


Going Bush 6: Vendetta

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: Going Bush [6]
Category: Hanson
Genre: Abduction, Assault, Bondage, Gen, Hostage Situations, Human Trafficking, Slave Trade, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-30
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-16 15:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 155
Words: 82,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/863415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the conclusion to the series, Isaac and Zac begin to question everything they know about their brother when he becomes determined to end their saga once and for all. At whatever cost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Taylor looked up from a magazine he was barely reading and checked the nearby water fountain. He was sitting on a park bench in the middle of a relatively crowded park, the people around him not really doing anything to calm his nerves.  
A look to the right saw two men in heavy jackets making their way toward it. To his knowing eye they were obviously heavily armed.  
He set the magazine down onto the bench beside him, nodded to a woman walking by, and pulled himself to his feet. Tightening the cap on his head and slipping his hands into his pockets he began to make his way over to the fountain while trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible.  
He came to rest a few yards behind the two men and cleared his throat. When they turned around, one of them sneered in derision.  
“So Nate decided to send his lackey,” he mused.  
“As Connor sent his,” Taylor came back, tilting his head slightly, “what did you expect? Nate to just waltz out here in the open where you could put a bullet in his head?”  
“What’s stopping us from putting one in yours?” the second man raised his chin in defiance.  
“Cameras,” Taylor replied simply, “four of them. One on the north-east side pointed directly at us, another covering the fountain, and two… possibly even more, covering any possible escape route out of here. Why do you think we chose this place?”  
“For a dumb blonde he’s done his research,” the second admitted to his partner.  
Taylor just smirked.  
“So why call the meeting?” the first regarded Taylor curiously, “Nate got something for Connor?”  
“Well he’s kinda hard to get on the phone,” Taylor pointed out, “but no, this was my idea.”  
“You do know that Connor knows exactly where you are at any given moment, right?” the second held up his phone, displaying the screen, “and now thanks to a new app, we all do too.”  
“Oh I know,” Taylor insisted, “but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?”  
He glanced to the left before taking a few precarious steps forward.  
“So what do you want, Blondie?” the second demanded, a hand going to his belt where Taylor knew at least a pistol sat.  
“I want you to give Connor a message,” Taylor put a hand on his head, taking hold of the cap.  
“And what’s the message?” the first mused.  
“You are.”  
The men looked confused for a moment as Taylor pulled the cap from his head. As soon as he did, the first man hit the ground.  
The second looked down in surprise, soon seeing the pool of blood surrounding the fallen man’s head. He looked up to see Taylor’s steely gaze still on him before a second round went through his own chest.  
It took the second man collapsing before the crowd realised what was going on. Among the sudden cries of ‘sniper!’ and inevitable screaming that followed in the hectic evacuation, Taylor looked up to his left.  
He couldn’t make him out, but he knew Nate was up there with the rifle.  
With one last look down at the two bodies, he replaced the cap to his head and casually walked out of the park.   
With a quick glance up at the gate he made sure the security camera there saw his face before he found the car they’d commandeered and drove up to the hill to retrieve Nate.


	2. 02

“Is this really happening, or am I going insane?” Isaac’s eyes darted.  
“Oh this is really happening,” Devon sighed.  
All eyes were locked to the big screen. Taylor’s face was prominent in screen captures, and a video looped showing Taylor’s casual stroll through the panicking crowd.  
“It had to be Nate,” Zac shook his head, his arms folded as he stood behind Isaac’s chair.  
“Did it?” Devon’s eyebrows rose, “or are we still looking at Tay through rose-coloured glasses? There’s _no way_ he could be doing this of his own accord. Nate has to have control over him still. Am I right?”  
“At what point did our brother become an underworld figure?” Isaac murmured, still staring at the screen.  
“He’s not,” Zac scorned, “or… not yet at least. I’m staying on the Nate train.”  
“Guys let’s face it,” Monroe put in, “there’s no way Nate could have gotten out of that truck without Taylor’s help. I know we don’t know exactly what happened, but we do know this. Taylor’s helping him.”  
“And we need to figure out why,” Devon insisted, “we don’t need any more of these public displays of testosterone. From either side of their little internal war.”  
“If Tay wasn’t involved I’d say let the bastards kill each other,” Zac shrugged, “but I don’t really want to see my brother dead. And I know where this is going.”  
“Oh you do?” Isaac turned to look up at him, “why don’t you enlighten the rest of us?”  
“If this really is Taylor helping Nate, and not Nate taking advantage – which I swear it has to be, but I’m humouring the possibility here – then it means our brother has snapped. And I don’t blame him. Enough is enough. I mean I’m practically there and what I’ve been through is nothing compared to what he has, presumably.”  
“But why would he help him, even if he has?” Isaac frowned, “what could Nate possibly want? All Nate ever really wanted was to take him and disappear. The cabin alone was proof of that.”  
“Maybe Nate’s done hiding,” Zac suggested, “maybe he has some revenge to dish out? We’re not gonna know until we find them.”  
“Where was this?” Isaac looked to Jenkins.  
“A park in Olean. It’s a small city east of Salamanca.”  
“So they’re staying close to Connor,” Zac looked between them.  
“Maybe Nate’s got a vendetta for Connor?” Isaac suggested, “I mean he shot him, right?”  
“We don’t know who shot him,” Zac corrected, “but I wouldn’t cross it out.”  
“We need to get IDs on the two that got shot in the park,” Devon insisted, “who can we get out to Olean?”  
“There’s still a clean-up crew in Salamanca,” Jenkins assured, “I can send a couple of those guys out to do recon?”  
“Do it,” Devon insisted, “have them report back to me by this afternoon.”  
He turned to leave the room, and Zac moved closer to the screen. Jenkins was about to zoom in for him when a notification appeared on his computer.  
“Ah… Devon? Devon!”  
Devon appeared in the doorway again, having only just stepped out.  
“You have a call,” Jenkins looked up with a worried expression, “the report with it says it’s from Taylor.”


	3. 03

“Tay?” Devon took up the headset apprehensively.  
“Devon,” Taylor returned, “you guys okay?”  
“I think the more important question is… are you?”  
“Please,” Taylor paused, “just tell me Ike and Zac are okay.”  
Devon indicated for Jenkins to broadcast the audio as he closed the door on the five of them.  
“He wants to know if you’re okay,” he looked between the brothers.  
“We’re fine Tay,” Zac looked to the ceiling, “where the Hell are you?”  
There was a pause on the line, making Jenkins check that the audio was actually coming through.  
“Zac, I’m not coming home this time.”  
“Why?” Zac demanded, “what does Nate have on you? Why are you helping him?”  
Another pause.  
“I’m not,” Taylor seemed hesitant.  
“What do you mean?” Isaac frowned.  
“I’m not helping him,” Taylor corrected, “Nate’s helping me.”  
A stunned silence filled the room. Zac locked eyes with Isaac, both minds working overtime to try and piece it together.  
“I’m not coming home,” Taylor repeated, “not until I finish this. Once and for all.”  
“Tay, what are you talking about?” Isaac slowly stood from his seat.  
“What do you mean ‘finish’?” Zac added.  
“Nate knows them,” Taylor tried to explain, “he knows where most – if not all – of their bases are. We all know that for all the power the army has, they still haven’t been able to find them. So we’re going to.”  
“Are you serious?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Taylor, you’re not thinking straight,” Isaac tried to reason, “whatever happened with Connor has gotten to you, obviously, but there are ways around this. You don’t have to-“  
“You can only push someone so far,” Taylor’s voice came through softer, “but this is bigger than me. And I’m ending it. For all of us.”  
“Oh crap,” Zac’s hand covered his mouth.  
“What are we supposed to tell Nat?” Isaac demanded, “that you’re going on a crusade with the one person you hate most in the world and that your chances of ever seeing her again are slim to none?”  
“Don’t tell her anything,” Taylor pleaded.  
“We can’t do that!” Isaac argued, “and she has a right to know that you’ve lost your mind!”  
“Ike, I’m thinking clearer than I ever have before. I swear to you,” Taylor insisted, “this is something I have to do. I’ve known it for a long time, I just didn’t want to believe it.”  
“Are you even listening to yourself? You’re talking like a crazy person!”  
“I just wanted to call to touch base with you,” Taylor tried to curb his reaction, “I didn’t have to do that. But I want you to stop looking for us.”  
“That’s not gonna happen,” Devon lay down the law.  
“You still have the tracker, don’t you?” Zac looked wary, “you realise Connor’s gonna know where you are.”  
“And what better way to draw him out?”  
“This is insane,” Isaac reiterated, “you have to let us help you!”  
“No, I don’t,” Taylor returned, “and I’m not about to. Just… stay where you are. Where you’re safe.”


	4. 04

Isaac was staring Zac down as he paced the other end of the room. Taylor’s call had ended abruptly, and anything Jenkins tried to trace it was failing.  
“What?” Zac demanded eventually.  
“You freaked out when Tay said something,” Isaac’s eyes narrowed, “when he said he was ending it.”  
Zac stared back at him for a moment, before nervously biting his nails.  
“What is it?” Devon demanded, eyes now on Zac also.  
“It wasn’t that,” Zac admitted, “it was when he said ‘this is bigger than me’. I’ve heard that before.”  
“What do you mean?” Isaac frowned.  
Zac faced the wall for a moment, trying to remember back. He wasn’t sure if it was something Taylor would mind him telling them or not, but right now he couldn’t really care less what Taylor would think of him.  
“When we got back from Paris, the two of us were sitting outside interrogation waiting for you,” he turned back to Isaac but couldn’t make eye contact, “I asked him what happened when he died.”  
Isaac shot a glance at Devon, who remained stoic. Without waiting for a response, Zac went on.  
“And he told me,” he admitted, “he told me the whole white light thing, and he said he saw our gran.”  
“What?” Isaac was taken aback.  
“Pretty much my reaction,” Zac agreed, “he went on to tell me that she was angry with him. For giving up so easily. And she told him – I quote – ‘this is bigger than you’.”  
“Tay’s taking the advice of a hallucination?” Devon’s eyebrows rose.  
“If you want to call it that,” Zac relented, “we can go with that, yeah.”  
“So Tay saw our grandmother when he died in Paris,” Isaac tried to get it straight, “and she told him that this was bigger than him? Does he even know what she meant by that?”  
“I think the enormity of it is just hitting him now,” Zac somewhat realised.  
“You guys are talking as if you believe him,” Devon was holding back exasperation.  
“It doesn’t matter what we believe,” Zac insisted, “what matters is that he does. And he’s using it to justify whatever the heck he’s planning to do.”  
“I think we know what he’s planning to do,” Isaac looked between them, “I think they’re planning another Chadron. Only on a bigger scale.”  
“What, rescuing people? Or just blowing the place up?” Zac scorned.  
“Both? Either?” Isaac shrugged, “but one thing we know for sure is that they’re going after bases. He practically just admitted that.”  
“So what do we do?” Zac turned to Devon.  
Devon just shook his head, then scratched it.  
“What we’ve been doing I guess,” he admitted, “I’ll need to send the call through to Andrews, but other than that… just keep up the surveillance.”  
He gave Jenkins a pointed look.  
“And hope to Hell we catch up with him before he does anything too stupid.”  
“Too late for that,” Zac turned back to the screen, “I don’t get why he’d purposely endanger all those people just to shoot those two guys.”  
“Maybe we’ll know more when we find out who they were,” Devon suggested.  
“And maybe he wanted the chaos,” Isaac added, “maybe that it was out in the open was the idea. He’s always wanted to crack this thing wide open, it’s why we went to the media in the first place.”


	5. 05

Taylor groaned as he rolled over in bed, his eyes shooting open a second later when he felt the restriction on his right wrist.  
Sitting up as he struggled to open his eyes, he found his hand cuffed to the edge of the bedframe. Eyes lifting further, he saw Nate sitting on the edge of the bed opposite.  
“’Morning,” he greeted.  
“’Morning,” Taylor returned, rubbing his eyes with his left hand as he turned back onto his right side, “what are you doing?”  
“Just quelling an irrational fear,” Nate leant over with the key.  
Taylor took it and used it to unlock the cuffs.   
“You’re afraid I’m gonna leave?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose as the cuffs came off, “where would I go that Connor wouldn’t find me?”  
“I don’t know… the Pentagon maybe?” Nate shrugged, “it worked for your brothers.”  
Taylor hesitated at the reference, before slowly curling his fist around the cuffs.  
“My brothers seem quite happy to stay there for the rest of their lives,” he said with implied anger, “I, however, am not.”  
“I can tell,” Nate assured.  
“I’m not just gonna sit by,” Taylor pulled himself up so he was sitting on the bed, “and watch as my kids are forced to grow up with no outside influence bar that of soldiers. With no idea of sunlight or a night sky. That’s not a life.”  
“And you’d rather die?” Nate’s eyebrows rose.  
Taylor hesitated, but nodded.  
“Yes,” he agreed, “and as I told Connor, I’m more than ready.”  
“Why?” Nate demanded, his voice hardened all of a sudden, “why are you so willing to die?”  
“Because it’s not life,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “this? This is not living. My family is not living. My brothers… they think they are, but they’re not. It’s become survival in a most basic form.”  
“Maybe this is all of life that a lot of people know,” Nate cut in.  
Taylor stopped and stared for a moment.  
“And would you bring kids into it?” he tested.  
Nate shrugged.  
“I don’t know. Maybe I would have liked to have had the opportunity.”  
Taylor looked down at the cuffs in his hands before his eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
“You’re just lonely,” he realised, “that’s what all this has been about, isn’t it? You’re lonely, and the only way you could comprehend making a connection was through being master or slave. Transitioning from one to the other must have been like a rite of passage.”  
The blank stare he got for that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand slightly on end.  
“I mean it makes sense,” he tried to reason, “you’ve been messed up in this for the vast majority of your life, and maybe it’s the only way you know how to reach out to someone. And for as short a time as it was, I know you were happy at the cabin. I know you were devastated when Seth found us. You’d put your heart into it, and I know that meant a lot to you.”  
He could think of a few other ways to put it, but he was trying to keep Nate onside.  
“I just… don’t know where to begin on telling you that it doesn’t have to be this way,” he frowned.  
“What way?” Nate asked curiously.  
“You don’t have to control someone to form a bond with them,” Taylor tried to explain.


	6. 06

“Maybe you just need a different perspective,” Taylor offered, “perspective is something Krüger was big on changing. He wanted us to focus on becoming controlled as opposed to being equals.”  
“So you basically want to spite him,” Nate’s eyes narrowed.  
“No,” Taylor frowned, “he’s dead, he doesn’t matter anymore. Not that he didn’t leave a lasting impression – he did, but I’m not going to play into it if I have the ability not to. And contrary to what seems to be a popular belief, I was not born to be someone’s slave.”  
An incredulous look crossed his face.  
“And I don’t believe anyone was. Why else would we need ‘training’? It’s unnatural at its core.”  
“Even dogs need to be trained,” Nate frowned.  
“People aren’t dogs,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “they don’t belong on a leash.”  
Nate’s eyes lowered and he tilted his head slightly, as if looking for an educated comeback.  
“Regardless,” Taylor leant over to hand the cuffs back, “we already spoke about this. And as long as this tracer is in my arm, you can’t restrain me.”  
“So let’s get it out,” Nate frowned, “why do you even still have it?”  
“I was told by a military doctor that removing it gives me the risk of losing the use of my arm muscles,” Taylor explained, running his right hand along the scar again, “maybe I’ll eventually bring myself to try it, but right now it’s an unnecessary evil I’m not willing to play to.”  
“Even if Connor could jump us at any second.”  
“He hasn’t yet,” Taylor pointed out, “and I won’t deny I’ve been wondering why.”  
“It hasn’t even been a week,” Nate shrugged, “he’s probably still recovering from what you did to him.”  
“You think he’ll show up guns blazing as soon as he’s able?” Taylor looked worried.  
“No,” Nate shook his head, setting the cuffs aside, “I think he’s more calculated than that.”  
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Taylor took a deep breath, “I’m hoping he’s going to wait for us to make a move first.”  
“I think technically we already have,” Nate stood and made for the kitchen.  
“It was a prelude, nothing more,” Taylor insisted, “I want to hit him hard.”  
“Well we need to work up to that,” Nate turned back, “we can’t just go straight after Connor when you’re still not even sure if you can kill anybody.”  
“I’m willing to kill Connor,” Taylor stared him in the eye.  
“I know,” Nate assured, “but what if Connor’s not the one in the way?”  
Taylor frowned and diverted his eyes.  
“We’ll hit Mississippi first,” Nate decided, putting the kettle on and getting some mugs ready, “there’s a base out there that I hear has been doing well lately. If you really want to hit Connor where it hurts, his income is a good start.”  
Taylor paused, thinking it over.  
“He’s going to work out that’s where I’m going before I get there,” he looked up, “and they’re all gonna know. One of the guys yesterday showed me an application on his phone that pinpointed where I was. He said they all had it.”  
“Then we’ll just have to give them what they’re expecting,” Nate shrugged, “you.”  
“Bait?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“If everyone knows you’re coming to visit,” Nate pointed out, “there’s no other way to do it.”  
Taylor nodded, seeing the point.


	7. 07

“How soon can we leave?” Taylor asked.  
“As soon as we’re ready.”  
Taylor nodded, before pulling himself up from the bed and heading for the bathroom.  
“Taking a shower,” he informed Nate before closing the door behind him.  
He made his way to the small motel sink where he took off his shirt and placed it on the few inches of counter space they had. As he did so, something of Nate’s caught his eye.  
With a glance at the door to make sure Nate had no objection to it being closed, he picked up the small bottle and read the description. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking at – he was no doctor – but the possible side effects alone caused him some alarm.  
Deciding to face the matter head on, he opened the door again. Nate looked up from where he’d been making his coffee.  
“What are these?” Taylor held the bottle up.  
“Those,” Nate reached out to snatch them away, and Taylor let him, “are none of your business.”  
“Nate everything is my business,” Taylor scorned, “everything to do with you is my business. Now more than ever.”  
Nate turned away to hide the pills in his duffel, but Taylor shadowed him.  
“Nate, talk to me,” he insisted, “let’s face it, you don’t have many people on your side right now. So keep me there. Let me in.”  
Nate stood straight and sighed. He took long enough deciding that Taylor was tempted just to go and have his shower.  
“They’re some form of anti-psychotic,” he admitted.  
“Psychotic?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, though he wasn’t sure why he was surprised, “how did you get them?”  
Nate turned and gave him a wary glance before taking a seat on the edge of the bed.  
“They were prescribed in ADMAX. I managed to track some down again a few months ago.”  
Taylor hesitated, looking confused.  
“You… put yourself on anti-psychotics?” he frowned, trying to understand.  
“I guess,” Nate shrugged.  
“Why?”  
Nate took a moment to think about it, but shrugged again.  
“I guess I thought it would make things easier,” he frowned, “I remember thinking clearly when I was in there. This was after your brother’s visit. And I guess I thought if I was on medication you might trust me more.”  
“How do I know you’re taking them?” Taylor’s expression didn’t change, “it said some of the side effects were nausea and loss of motor function.”  
“I haven’t driven anywhere while tanked,” Nate assured.  
“So how often do you take them?” Taylor folded his arms.  
“Just once in the morning,” Nate replied, “so if you want to leave for Mississippi within the hour, you’re gonna have to drive.”  
“It’s not a problem,” Taylor assured, “I’ll go have that shower.”  
He gave Nate a sideways look before returning to the bathroom.  
That had certainly thrown a spanner in the works. He could tell that Nate had been not only easier to deal with but certainly a lot more clear-headed than usual, but he never would have guessed…


	8. 08

“Do we know how this thing works?” Zac asked Devon as he leant against the wall with his arms folded.  
“We never got a look at it,” Devon responded just as quiet, pausing as someone passed them by.  
“Okay, but assuming it works anything like mine…” Zac’s eyes narrowed, “do you think there could be a way to tap into it? Like a remote tap?”  
“We never had the chance to try while he was here, and frankly we didn’t think about it,” Devon cast an almost nervous glance over his shoulder, “and now we’ll need to be within range of him to even test it. Which involves knowing where he is.”  
“It would be a start,” Zac muttered, shaking hair out of his eyes.  
“There is another option,” Devon’s voice lowered further.  
Zac eyed him suspiciously before taking the bait.  
“What is it?” he asked cautiously, finding it obvious that Devon didn’t like what he was about to say.  
“EMP?” Devon’s eyebrows rose, “again we’d have to get close enough, but if we can short-circuit the chip in the damn thing at least Connor won’t be able to find him.”  
“You think that’ll work?” Zac asked hopefully, “even though it’s… you know, on the inside?”  
“Beam will go right through him,” Devon shrugged, “it’ll probably make him sick, but what’s the worse fate?”  
“Unfortunately all of this still centres on finding him first,” Zac smirked, turning his back to the wall and leaning his head against it.  
“…Yep.”  
“And for him to be willing to try.”  
“He doesn’t necessarily have to be willing,” Devon pointed out.  
Zac frowned, his eyes darting across to Devon again.  
“You’re gonna zap him without telling him?”  
“He’s going to find it hard to not notice what’s happening,” Devon admitted, “but if we can get a shot at a far range either when we can’t get closer or maybe he’s already in trouble, I think we should take it.”  
Zac nodded.  
“I think so too. But as long as it works,” Zac shook his head, “we don’t exactly have a way to test it.”  
“Well… there’s you,” Devon smirked, “but considering where yours is? Chances are the chip won’t be the only thing that fries.”  
“Gee, thanks,” Zac grimaced.  
He paused for a moment as what Devon said sunk in.  
“Wait…” he stood straight, “am I stuck with this thing forever?”  
“Well it’s not like Taylor’s,” Devon pointed out, “you don’t really _need_ it removed. Unless it’s causing pain or anything. Is it?”  
“No it’s not,” Zac admitted, “I’m just not sure I like the idea of someone knowing my every move.”  
“You’ve been based at the Pentagon for well over a year now,” Devon scoffed, “you don’t think your every move is being watched already?”  
“It’ll be different outside,” Zac looked up to the hallway security camera, “and what about when it’s over?”  
“I’ll be straight with you, because I consider you a friend,” Devon assured, “but it’s not coming out, and it was never intended to. Where it is, any attempt to remove it could result in paralysation.”


	9. 09

“But how could they do that without permission?” Zac scowled, before a look of realisation crossed his face, “of course, it’s the military. They’ll do anything to get their hands on the Creeds.”  
“And we still haven’t found Fowler,” Devon chose to ignore the last comment.  
“You think Fowler’s going to come after me?” Zac’s expression didn’t change, “he never has before, the Creeds have always done his dirty work.”  
“With his son in custody we don’t know what he’ll do,” Devon admitted, “especially after what you’ve told us.”  
“Fowler’s frail at best,” Zac insisted, “I don’t know how long it’s been since you guys have seen him, but he’s practically a grandfather in need of a walking cane. He’s not going to ‘come after’ me. If anything, he’ll send someone else in his place. But Fowler himself? He’s out of the game, period.”  
“Are you sure?” Devon frowned.  
“Positive,” Zac nodded, “dude could barely walk at times. And his wife wasn’t much better. Which again makes me wonder how the heck they keep evading you guys so well.”  
“You and me both,” Devon sighed, eyeing more soldiers making their way down the corridor.  
“Don’t let me keep you if you need to be somewhere,” Zac followed his eye line.  
“My orders are to keep up surveillance with Jenkins until such a time as Taylor is found,” Devon pulled a face, “so no, I don’t have anywhere to be.”  
“Except back in that room,” Zac indicated.  
“Yeah,” Devon scratched his head before standing aside, “what are you guys doing for lunch?”  
“There’s another option?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
Devon smirked.  
“Mind bringing me something?” he asked.  
“The usual?” Zac unfolded his arms, “I’ll see if we can’t smuggle something out.”  
“Thanks. Catch Ike up?”  
“He’ll probably be in to see you after anyway,” Zac shrugged, “in fact… I’ll just give him the food. He can come see you.”  
“Okay, sounds good,” Devon nodded before disappearing back into the surveillance room.  
Zac paused in the hallway as he considered walking in after him, but thought better of it. Instead he headed back to their living quarters to find his brother.  
He found him with both Monroes, one having the other hoisted on his shoulders.  
“Hey,” Zac indicated for him to join him outside.  
“I’ll be back,” Isaac grinned, reaching up to ruffle his son’s hair before leaving the Private to it.  
He stepped out into the corridor, his expression falling when he saw Zac’s face.  
“What is it?” he asked, “anything on Tay?”  
“Nope, not yet,” Zac admitted, “something a little more… personal.”  
He took another look upward, at the security camera scanning this hallway. He knew they probably had audio surveillance but it was already too late to worry about that.  
“What?” Isaac frowned.  
“Remember the chip they put in my neck?” Zac indicated where he felt the scar with a finger.  
“Of course…” Isaac was hesitant.  
“Turns out it was a one way street,” Zac looked uncomfortable, “it’s not coming out.”  
“Why would you want it out?” Isaac shrugged.  
“Maybe so I don’t feel like a freaking lab rat?” Zac hissed.


	10. 10

“Think you can handle ten minutes?” Nate leant back through the car window.  
“I’ll get worried when you don’t show by midnight,” Taylor scorned.  
Nate checked his watch. It was just before 9pm.  
“Sure you’re ready?” he asked.  
“As I’ll ever be,” Taylor turned back to the road and nodded, “you got the phone?”  
Nate pulled it from his belt to show him. Taylor gave it a glance before taking a deep breath.  
“Good luck,” Nate tapped the window frame.  
“Yeah,” Taylor nodded, “you too.”  
He slowly pulled away, leaving Nate on the side of the road in the dark. He was soon out of sight as he ducked off into the trees.  
Taylor checked the GPS one last time to make sure he was on track. As far as he could tell there was only one road in or out of the Oxford base heading in to Sardis Lake, but the lack of streetlights and signs had him second guessing.  
He soon and very abruptly came across a set of steel gates topped with barbed wire, and finally knew for sure that he was in the right place. Two armed guards stepped out of the shadows as he pulled the car to a halt, weapons already aimed for the driver.  
“Out of the car!” one demanded.  
“Fine,” Taylor muttered under his breath, pulling the cap from his head and setting it on the seat before opening the door and getting out.  
“Hands where we can see them!”  
“Don’t you think this is a little overkill for someone just a bit lost in the woods?” Taylor raised a brow, hands going up almost professionally as soon as he’d closed the car door.  
“Cut the crap Hanson.”  
Taylor smirked, looking between the two.  
“Okay, so you know who I am,” his eyes gleamed in the dark, the only available light coming from the old car’s dimming headlights, “now what?”  
“What are you doing here?” one of them demanded.  
“A show of good faith from Nate,” Taylor lowered his head so as not to seem overly confident, “we happened to be paying Memphis a visit when he came up with the idea.”  
“What idea?”  
“A trade,” Taylor held back a scornful look, “his freedom, for me.”  
“How does he know we won’t just shoot you?” Taylor knew the other was entertaining the idea already.  
“We all know Connor would have forbidden you to shoot me, whatever he wants with me is personal and frankly none of your business,” he said with venom, “so take me in and just get it over with. Unless you think Nate should have chosen a more professional base.”  
The two guards shared a glance, before one of them indicated for Taylor to get back in the car.  
“I’ll ride with him, you stay here,” he insisted.  
“No problem.”  
Taylor got in and waited as the gunman got into the back, making sure there was enough room for him to fire if needed. The guard left outside unlocked the gates and opened one side for them.  
“Pull up out front,” the current gunman ordered.  
“Yes Sir,” Taylor sighed, starting the car again and beginning to pull forward.


	11. 11

Taylor looked up at the building as he pulled the car to a stop out front, his momentary distraction making it easy for the gunman to sling a piece of cloth around Taylor’s neck. Taylor grabbed for it as it was pulled taut, already having to force himself to stay calm.  
“Easy…” the gunman steadied the pull, “slowly, cuff yourself.”  
Taylor’s eyes darted to the right as he saw the gunman pass him a set of handcuffs. Without waiting for the man to specify front or back, Taylor quickly cuffed his wrists together in front. As he kept his hands where the man could see them he waited as he tied a few knots in the cloth before opening his door and getting out. Not giving any further instruction until he was out and had the gun aimed once again, Taylor managed to keep one eye on him and one on the doors they were undoubtedly about to go through.  
“Out,” came the order through the window.  
Taylor gave him a glance before carefully reaching over for the door handle and letting himself out. As he did so he heard the main doors opening and looked up to see two more armed guards coming out to see what was going on.  
Before he could close the door again the gunman had grabbed the end of the cloth and was pulling him along by it like a makeshift collar. The height difference forced Taylor to hunch over slightly.  
“Are you kidding me?” one of the guards at the door was evidently surprised.  
“Get Ross down here,” the gunman insisted, “and get Creed on the phone.”  
One of the guards disappeared inside as Taylor was pulled up to the door. The other guard looked him over before holding the door open for them.  
Inside the building reminded Taylor of Chadron. It had a similar derelict warehouse feel to it, and there was an obvious garage where vans could be driven straight in.   
“What are you gonna do with him?” the guard asked, Taylor hissing as the cloth pulled him to his knees.  
“Not for us to decide,” the gunman set to waiting.  
Taylor kept his fingertips underneath the cloth as the gunman kept hold of the end. It wasn’t long before the other guard returned, an older man in a faded grey suit in tow. The newcomer didn’t look anything like him, but his very stance reminded Taylor of Krüger.  
Suddenly, Taylor was beginning to have doubts.  
“Yes… I recognise this one,” the newcomer mused, “very stupid to come here.”  
“I’m not for you,” Taylor got out before the gunman tightened his grip and he had to flinch.  
“I thought he went through training with Derek?” the man looked to his guard.  
The guard shrugged. With a smirk the man – presumably Ross - pulled out his cell phone and dialled.  
“Connor is definitely going to be… at the very least intrigued as to why you’ve joined us,” he mused, “especially after your little stunt in Olean. And yes, we did hear about that one.”  
“It wasn’t me, it was-“  
Taylor cut off again as the gunman pulled tighter. With a groan he looked up at him before returning his gaze to Ross.  
“Nate?” the man finished for him before putting the phone to his ear, “hello? Yes, this is Stuart Ross. I’d like to speak with Connor on an urgent matter. I believe he may already know what it is.”  
“Why doesn’t Nate have you collared?” the gunman suddenly asked.  
Taylor eyed the man in charge, trying to focus more on that conversation.  
“Nate’s a real Master,” he assured, “he doesn’t need a collar to control me.”


	12. 12

“Taylor… it’s somewhat surprising to see you again so soon.”  
Taylor grimaced as his head was held up so that he and Connor could see each other over the video call.  
“Can’t say it’s a pleasure,” he said through his teeth.  
“Ever the conversationalist,” Connor sighed, “I don’t suppose you could do me a favour and tell us _why_ Nate has decided to send you into the lion’s den, especially after your little stunt the other day?”  
“How should I know? He’s insane,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “nothing he does makes sense to me.”  
“And you just went along with it, knowing very well you were headed for a worse fate?”  
“He had a freaking gun to my head, there wasn’t a lot of choice!”  
Taylor flinched as the gunman pulled the knots tighter again at his outburst.  
Connor took a moment just to watch him through the phone, seemingly deciding what to do about the situation.  
“Ross?”  
Taylor’s eyes shot to the suited man as he took the phone back.  
“I’m not really in the best condition to pay you a visit, but if you could possibly detain Taylor in one of your cells until such a time as I could get down there I’d be very much appreciative.”  
“Least I could do,” Ross assured, “how long do you think it will take?”  
“Possibly up to a week. I’d rather come for him myself, as you can understand, rather than sending anyone else.”  
“Of course. Call me any time to check on him.”  
“Thank you. You’re a loyal friend.”  
Taylor watched as the man ended the call and slid his phone into his pocket. As he did so the gunman pulled him to his feet via his throat.  
There were two things Taylor couldn’t let happen. He couldn’t let them put his arms in a binder, and he couldn’t go into a cell that bolted from the outside. At this point – sure Nate’s ten minutes had long since passed – he didn’t feel the need to wait and find out his options.  
As Ross turned away, Taylor finally slid his fingers out from under the cloth and let his hands fall to his belt.  
“Which one?” the gunman asked, Taylor taking the distraction to slip a thin knife from his belt buckle.  
Feigning returning his grip to the cloth, he quickly slit the man’s wrist.  
Suddenly more occupied with his mortality, the man dropped the cloth. As he struggled to cover the wound before even letting out a sound, Taylor went for his gun. Just as the man made his first yell to warn the others, Taylor dropped the other guard with his very first bullet.  
“What the-?”  
Taylor stepped aside so that he was out of reach of the bleeding gunman, making sure to keep the gun trained on Ross.  
“How many people have you got here?” he demanded.  
“Excuse me?”  
“How many?!” Taylor’s voice rose.  
The man slowly turned back to face him, his hands running the length of his jacket consideringly. A glance down at the gunman showed that he was recovering, so Taylor aimed and fired at his leg.


	13. 13

The shot kept the gunman down, now with two bleeding wounds to worry about. Taylor knew the shots - though muffled by the silencer - were soon going to alert others in the building so he had to work fast.  
“Many,” Ross answered Taylor’s earlier question, “you are vastly outnumbered here.”  
“Really?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “because right now it doesn’t look like it.”  
Ross suddenly scowled, and reached for where he’d replaced his phone in his pocket. Taylor’s finger quivered over the trigger.  
“You really want to try me?” he tested.  
When Ross simply smirked and pulled out the phone regardless of the veiled threat, Taylor once again pulled the trigger. The shot hit Ross in the left shoulder and he dropped the phone.  
“Next one goes in your head,” Taylor blinked, trying to stay focused.  
Grimacing as he covered the wound with his right hand, Ross stood tall again.  
“Very well,” he said through his teeth, “what are you hoping to accomplish here, Mr Hanson?”  
A sudden bang came from a door opposite where they’d come in. Expecting to see more guards Taylor quickly aimed his gun, breathing an overdue sigh of relief when he saw that it was Nate.  
“What took so long?!” he demanded, training the gun on Ross again.  
“Sightseeing,” Nate shrugged, before frowning across at the guard on the ground.  
Without bothering to ask, he raised his own gun and shot him dead.  
“Where is everyone?” Taylor’s eyes darted.  
“Nathan,” Ross’ eyes narrowed in his direction.  
“Stewie! Good to see you again,” Nate grinned, lowering the gun to his side.  
“What, exactly, do you think you’re doing?”  
“Cleaning up,” Nate shrugged.  
“Cleaning up what?” Ross scowled, “do you have any idea what the Creeds will do-“  
“You killed anyone yet?” Nate looked to Taylor.  
Taylor nodded to the other guard on the floor. His chest wound had already appeared to have stopped bleeding.  
“Good,” Nate raised his gun and shot Ross in the head.  
Taylor finally lowered his gun as the man fell, taking a moment to process the sudden end to the standoff.  
“What did you do?” he looked to Nate.  
“They keep minimal guards on staff here, lucky for us,” Nate eyed him for a moment before making his way to the guard he’d shot himself, “all accounted for, I hope.”  
“And their prisoners?” Taylor watched as Nate rifled through the man’s pockets, coming out with a set of keys.  
“I opened the doors,” Nate shrugged again, “it’s up to them what they do now.”  
Taylor hesitated, unsure whether to trust his word, before Nate threw him the keys. He had to drop the gun to catch them but he quickly began going through them to find the one for the handcuffs.  
“He called Connor,” Taylor nodded towards Ross, “he knows we’re here. Or I’m here. He told him to hold me for a week because he wouldn’t get here before then.”  
“A week, huh?” Nate mused, finishing up with that guard before checking the other for anything they could use, “gives us plenty of time to have some fun then.”  
Taylor swallowed at Nate’s idea of ‘fun’ as he finally threw the cuffs aside and retrieved the gun.


	14. Chapter 14

“Nate, it’s almost midnight and we’ve been driving all day,” Taylor groaned, “we need sleep.”  
“It’s not far away,” Nate insisted.  
“I don’t care,” Taylor hit back, “we’re tired, and that means we won’t be thinking straight. We can’t do it. Not tonight.”  
Nate grunted and turned his gaze to out the window.  
“First thing in the morning, I promise,” Taylor insisted, glancing across from the wheel, “we need to sleep on this first.”  
“You mean you need to sleep on it. It was a walk in the park for me,” Nate’s gaze settled on Taylor.  
The next time Taylor looked across, he suddenly felt unnerved by the look he was getting.  
“Either get some sleep, or take your medication,” he insisted, though his voice was softer, “you’re starting to freak me out.”  
Nate threw a glance over into the backseat, knowing his medication wasn’t within reach. With a sigh he moved the backrest down and made himself comfortable.  
“Where are you stopping?” he mumbled as he closed his eyes.  
“As soon as I find somewhere to pull over where they can’t see us from the road,” Taylor assured, glad that Nate had taken his advice.  
Nate was asleep before he did so. He was careful to pull the small hatchback into a cove of trees which he was sure would cover them from the highway when the sun came up. The last thing they needed was for a patrol car to come snooping while the car was now loaded with weaponry and blood-stained clothes.  
Tempted to leave the heater on but knowing it would waste the car battery, Taylor soon settled himself down also.

*

Taylor jumped as Nate opened his door the next morning. As Nate took off into the surrounding trees, Taylor took the time to try and wake himself up. A quick look at Ross’ phone told him it was just before 7am.  
He’d had to mute it soon after falling asleep because there were a number of messages and calls coming through. A surprising amount for that time of night. Taylor quickly checked the call logs to make sure Connor hadn’t been one of them, sighing with relief when he couldn’t see any reference to him.  
He looked up as Nate opened his door again.  
“How far to Tupelo?” he asked as he took his seat again.  
“Can’t be far,” Taylor adjusted his seat back before turning on the GPS, “it took a while to find this spot, so… yeah.”  
Nate waited patiently as Taylor checked the guide.  
“Only a few miles,” Taylor sat back again.  
Nate leant forward to grab it, Taylor watching as he entered an address and set the directions going.  
“Once you get onto West Jackson Street I’ll have to guide you,” Nate set it back in its holder.  
“Can we at least get something to eat first?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
Nate stared at him for a moment before nodding.  
“Sounds good.”  
Taylor rolled his eyes before managing to get the car started on the second try.  
“Sounds like we need another car,” Nate smirked.


	15. 15

“Just remember,” Nate insisted as he leant in the open car door, “no matter what you see in there, or what they give you, just remember I’m coming for you.”  
“I know,” Taylor assured, before frowning, “wait… what they give me?”  
Nate closed the door and took off down a nearby laneway, slinging a backpack over his shoulder.  
“What are they gonna give me?!” Taylor leant out the window to call after him.  
Nate ignored him and kept walking. Taylor took a deep breath and sighed.  
Nate had warned him that the place they were hitting this morning wasn’t a regular base. He seemed to believe there wouldn’t even be many armed guards – that it would be a quick in and out. Considering how fast the Oxford base had gone down, Taylor had high hopes for this one.  
But if it wasn’t a ‘regular’ base, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to know what it actually was.  
He pulled the car up on the sidewalk further down the street and eyed the apparent apartment building. From the outside they even looked lived in. Inside, Nate had assured that all the ‘flats’ were open and joined, and it really was one big operational facility. Taylor hoped he was right, or things were about to get very awkward.  
He did a last check of his concealed weapons and checked Ross’ phone one last time. He was surprised Connor hadn’t called but it had sounded like there’d been a lot of trust between the two of them.  
He hid the phone in the glove compartment before getting out of the car. Following Nate’s directions he headed down a rather steep driveway to what he presumed would be a parking area for the building’s occupants under the building itself. What he found was another enclosed area with room for only one vehicle – a courier van already backed into it with no one supervising outside.  
As he made his way up to two glass doors that looked onto an elevator, he was surprised to find them unlocked and easy to open. Without stopping to think it over he headed inside.  
His leg hit a sensor beam and immediately set off a beeping alarm. It wasn’t loud enough for the neighbouring properties to hear, but it certainly echoed through the cold building he’d just walked into. As Nate had mentioned, Taylor could hear the echo reverberating multiple stories upward proving that it definitely wasn’t a set of apartments.  
He didn’t have much time to process it before a man in surgical gloves and what looked like a butcher’s apron appeared.  
“Can I help you?” he frowned, as if he expected Taylor to be a hawker.  
“Maybe,” Taylor replied, still looking around apprehensively, “I was sent here by Stuart Ross?”  
A look of realisation crossed the man’s face and he covered it just as fast. Taylor knew in that instant that he was definitely in the right place.  
The man stepped over to a nearby wall and hit a button likened to those used to open doors in a hospital. Taylor heard locks slide into place in the doors behind him and tried to assure himself that Nate would have an alternate way in.  
“Wait here,” the man disappeared back through an open doorway.  
Taylor took the moment to turn back and check the doors. He could barely make out the steel rods that had locked themselves in place both at the top and bottom of the doors. He’d barely taken a step back from them before the man returned.  
“Come with me,” he nodded toward the elevator, pressing the button for the third floor.  
Taylor followed obediently, stepping inside the elevator alongside him. As soon as the doors closed on them he felt a sharp sting under his jaw, his hand flying to it in surprise before looking across to see a needle in the man’s hand.


	16. 16

Flashing lights were the first thing Taylor saw when he came to. With a groan he rolled his head to the side, trying to block them out.  
“Taylor?”  
He didn’t recognise the voice. The fog clouding his head made it hard to focus but he was eventually able to open his eyes and look up at the speaker.  
When he saw it was a man wearing a surgical mask, his eyes widened and he tried to sit up.  
“Stay calm,” the man assured, placing a hand gently on Taylor’s chest.  
Taylor could feel the restraints on his wrists and chest, and as he grew more aware of his surroundings he could also feel them on his ankles. But they weren’t rough like he was used to, they were softened medical-grade restraints.  
Either way, they still stopped him from reaching anything he could use to defend himself.  
With another groan his head hit the gurney again, watching the lights above him pass as he was wheeled down a corridor.  
“I should have given him more, but I wasn’t sure.”  
He recognised that voice. It was the man who’d stabbed him with a needle. Taylor’s eyes shot to his feet where he saw the man pulling the gurney.  
“You did the right thing. No more was needed.”  
“What are you doing?” Taylor was surprised to find his voice husky and his throat dry.  
“We tried to verify your story,” the one who looked like a surgeon responded, “with Stuart Ross while you were under. For some reason he doesn’t appear to be answering his phone.”  
Taylor held back a gulp, his nostrils flaring as he took deep breaths to wake himself up more.  
“So we spoke to Connor Creed instead.”  
“What?” Taylor gasped out, automatically pulling on his restraints again.  
The man replaced his hand on Taylor’s chest, somewhat unneeded as the straps kept him down anyway.  
“He was happy to disclose your identity to us, and recommend a procedure or two.”  
“Procedure?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, feeling his heart start to race, “what kind of procedure?!”  
He looked up as the gurney slowed, turning through a doorway. When he saw a similar room to the one he’d been given the tracer in his heart only beat faster.  
“Wait, what does he want?!” his eyes darted between the men as the bed was set under the lights, “what does Connor want you to do?!”  
The surgeon set the brakes on the gurney as Taylor tried to rock it, testing its weight.  
“You won’t be going anywhere,” the surgeon assured when he saw what he was doing.  
“What does he want?!” Taylor’s voice broke as he looked up again.  
When he felt the second man start to roll up the left leg of his jeans, he cast his eyes downward in worry. It was then he noticed his belt – along with the knife and some hidden wires – was missing.  
Now would have been a great time for Nate to show up.  
The next thing Taylor sighted was a bone saw, held up by the surgeon as the other man took hold of his ankle.  
“Whoa! Wait! NO!” he panicked, fighting against the restraints now as hard as he could.  
“Calm down,” the surgeon insisted, “we don’t want the blood to clot.”  
“You’re not taking it!” Taylor shouted back, “what is he thinking?!”  
“He’s thinking of ways to make it harder for you to run,” the surgeon’s eyes met his momentarily.


	17. 17

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Taylor barely breathed.  
“He’s too worked up,” the assistant decided, fighting to keep Taylor’s leg still as Taylor pulled on it.  
“We may have to sedate him after all,” the surgeon agreed, making Taylor groan, “despite what Connor wants I doubt he wants his charge to bleed to death.”  
“You’re all psychos,” Taylor’s eyes darted across the ceiling, “who even thinks of these things?”  
“I thought he went through training with Krüger?” the assistant looked to the surgeon with confusion as he finally let go and stepped aside.  
“Why does everyone keep saying that?!” Taylor looked up, exasperated.  
“I guess it’s just unusual… to see such defiance in someone who’s been under the Creeds’ star trainer,” the surgeon stood over him again, keeping him distracted as his assistant worked.  
“Things changed when he decided he wanted me for himself the second time around,” Taylor insisted.  
“The second time?” the surgeon’s eyebrows rose, “this one went through Krüger’s training _twice_ and nothing was retained.”  
“So why does Connor still have him?”  
“He doesn’t _have_ me!” Taylor spat.  
“Not yet, but we do…” the surgeon moved aside slightly, “and by all accounts we work for him.”  
Taylor took another deep breath, the quote reminding him of Seth’s first claim on him. His eyes darted to the right when he saw the assistant coming for him, unable to defend himself as once again a needle was slid into his neck.  
Taylor hissed and turned his head away, closing his eyes until he felt it removed. He immediately felt himself going under, and gave one last attempt at pulling on the restraints – to no avail.

*

The next time Taylor opened his eyes, he was still under the surgeon’s lights. It took him a moment to realise where he must have been, but his eyes soon shot open and he sat up on the gurney.  
He was no longer restrained. Both of his feet were intact, though shoeless.  
Taking a moment to process, he looked up only when he caught movement out the corner of his eye. Unable to focus at first he could barely make out a dark shape which showed someone in dark clothing over by a cupboard. As his vision finally cleared, he saw that it was Nate. He had his backpack open and was emptying the cupboard’s contents into it, the small bottles clinking loudly.  
“Nate?” Taylor held back a cough, before looking down.  
The bloodied bodies of both the surgeon and his assistant lay on the floor beside the gurney.  
“You okay?” Nate asked over his shoulder as he continued what he was doing.  
“No,” Taylor scorned, putting a hand to his forehead as he registered blood covering his left leg.  
Without a closer look he couldn’t tell if it were his own or not. Pain in the area quite suddenly confirmed that it was.  
With a grimace he pulled his leg into him to study it further.  
“What took you so long?” he demanded, though his voice still struggled, “they almost had me.”  
“They almost had your foot,” Nate corrected, zipping up the bag and starting over to him, “come on, we have to leave. _Now_.”  
“Wait,” Taylor held out a hand as Nate tried to help him down, “they have to have other people here. We need to find them.”  
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Nate glanced toward the door worriedly.


	18. 18

“Why?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed before Nate gave his arm a tug, pulling him from the gurney.  
When his weight fell on his left leg he almost fell over.  
“Holy crap!” he adjusted to his right, feeling blood running down the leg already, “what happened?!”  
“He was about to start cutting when I shot him, he must have got you on the way down,” Nate bent over to have a quick look.  
Taylor leant back against the gurney, eyeing the nearby bodies as Nate inspected the wound.  
“Can I use this?” Nate indicated the bandage still on Taylor’s right foot.  
“No,” Taylor insisted, “find another one.”  
Nate pulled a face but went back to the cupboards. He sifted through until he found some padding and gauze before making his way back to Taylor’s side and falling to one knee.  
“Should probably clean it first…” he muttered.  
“I thought you said we were in a rush?” Taylor pointed out, “just do it.”  
His grip tightened on the edge of the gurney as Nate went about bandaging the damaged area. Taylor knew it would have to be looked at properly later on, but for now he’d be happy as long as it stopped bleeding. He could worry about possibly needing stitches later.  
When Nate was done Taylor tested it out, finding he was able to walk on it after all. After sighting his shoes on a counter to the side Nate waited impatiently while he replaced them before taking his arm and helping him out of the room.  
“So what is this place?” Taylor grunted, sighting blood spatter without a source on a corridor wall.  
“Never mind. It’ll soon be a horrible - but distant - memory,” Nate assured.  
“Nate we have to free the other prisoners,” Taylor insisted, “you found some, right?”  
Nate stopped in his tracks, and because Taylor was using his shoulder to lean on he had to stop too.  
“You do realise what they were about to do to you, right?” Nate indicated Taylor’s leg.  
“Yeah, so?” Taylor frowned.  
“That’s what this place is,” Nate insisted, “the people here aren’t going to _want_ to be saved.”  
“Who are you to decide what they want?” Taylor scowled, “you think I didn’t want to be saved from Mexico? Or Paris?”  
“Of course,” Nate looked taken aback, “but that was different!”  
“How?” Taylor demanded, “how is it any different? The people here still have others trying to decide for them how they’re going to live their lives. Not to mention whether or not they even can.”  
“You were still in one piece,” Nate pointed out.  
“So if I was missing a foot you wouldn’t have come for me?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
Nate hesitated at that. Taylor took the moment to look back down the corridor.  
“There’s every chance that these people have someone out there that cares about them just as much, if not more,” he insisted, “and if they have any chance at all of survival, we need to exploit that. We need to help them get home, and make sure they’re not made future targets like in Waco.”  
“That’s harder than it sounds,” Nate assured.  
“I know, but it’s possible,” Taylor insisted, “and I’ve already bet my life on it more than once.”  
“You’re going to regret this,” Nate stood to the side so Taylor could lean on him again.  
Taylor just grunted as he took hold of Nate’s shoulder and followed him down to the elevator.  
“Where are they?” he asked.  
“Second floor, mostly,” Nate hit the button, “I’ve rigged explosives through most of it already.”  
Taylor leant against the wall of the elevator as the doors closed, trying not to think about that.


	19. 19

When they came to the first makeshift ward Taylor had to pull his hand from Nate in favour of holding his stomach.  
“Oh God,” he had to turn away after only a first glimpse.  
Nate grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back into the room.  
“You wanted to see this,” he reminded him.  
Taylor’s nausea had hit at first sighting of a severed limb to his left. He wasn’t sure if his reaction was because of how horrible it looked, or if it was because he’d been so close to suffering the same.  
Nate pulled him through to the centre of the room, surrounding them with the four beds. The occupants were all either hooded or both gagged and blindfolded, so they couldn’t tell if any were even conscious.  
“Which one do you want to save?” Nate indicated the four of them, “because we can’t carry them all.”  
Taylor covered his mouth with his hand as he took in their injuries. The male by the door had lost both legs from the knees down. The male in the bed opposite him had lost his left hand. The other on that side was being treated for obvious malnutrition, and the only female in the room had no blatantly obvious injuries but there was blood on the gurney by her head.  
“We can’t leave them like this,” Taylor shook his head, keeping his hand to his mouth as he forced his eyes away from the man by the door.  
“Then what?” Nate demanded, “time is running out here!”  
“We get help,” Taylor looked up suddenly, “we call the nearest hospital. They can come and get them. If they’re admitted, then-“  
“You think Tulsa is the only police department with a corrupt force?” Nate’s brow furrowed as he cut Taylor off.  
“What?”  
“Davison,” Nate reminded him, “you really think he was the only one? With both Ross’ base and this in the same state, you don’t think they have someone watching out for them?”  
Taylor’s eyes darted as his mind raced for a solution.  
“The second these people are admitted to hospital, they’re going to know,” Nate added.  
“It’ll be Waco all over again,” Taylor ran his fingers through his hair.  
“Exactly.”  
Taylor looked across to the malnourished male in the back corner. He looked half dead already. Turning to the one without a hand, he made his way to the man’s bedside and started work on removing his hood. Nate watched on absently as Taylor found him unconscious.  
“What’s your plan?” Nate asked, “take the ones that can walk?”  
“I don’t want to play God,” Taylor insisted, “but I just…”  
He looked across to the malnourished one again, before making his way over to the girl. As he began removing her blindfold and gag, she started to come to.  
“Hey!” Taylor tried to rouse her, “hey, are you okay? Can you talk?”  
The girl’s eyes struggled to open, but when they fell on Taylor they widened. He jumped back a little as she struggled to sit up, before quickly helping her with her restraints. Once her hands were free they flew to her throat.  
“I know what that means,” Nate mused.  
The girl’s eyes shot to him before returning to Taylor. He saw her obviously mouth the word ‘help’.


	20. 20

“We’re here to help,” Taylor insisted, “we’re gonna get you out of here.”  
“And it looks like she’s the only one,” Nate had stepped over to the man with missing limbs to check for a pulse.  
“Are there other rooms?” Taylor looked across to him as he helped the girl to her feet.  
“Do you want me to lie and say no, or tell the truth and add that you’ll only see worse?” Nate tested.  
“I still say we give them a fighting chance,” Taylor insisted, pulling the girl’s arm over his shoulder and making to leave the room, “the least we could do is call 9-1-1.”  
“Taylor… right now, Connor still doesn’t know what we’re doing,” Nate’s eyes narrowed as he made his way over and took the girl’s weight from him.  
Taylor stepped aside, knowing his leg would stop him from getting far with her anyway.  
“But once people start showing up at hospitals and telling their stories…?”  
“Connor knows I’m here. Again,” Taylor wasn’t sure if Nate knew already, “I told them Ross sent me, like you said to, and they tried to call him. When he didn’t answer they called Connor instead. He’s the one who told them what to do.”  
“I thought they just recognised you,” Nate frowned.  
“No, they had no idea,” Taylor insisted as he led the way out, “but point being, Connor’s already going to work this out. And it won’t be long, I can assure you.”  
“So much for keeping up appearances,” Nate smirked, easily half carrying the girl out with him.  
Taylor made it to the elevator first and pressed for the ground floor. As he looked back he saw where Nate had set an explosive against one of the further walls.  
He stared at it for a moment as he held the door for the other two.  
“This doesn’t change anything, right?” he checked once Nate was in.  
“About what we’re doing? No,” Nate shrugged it off.  
“Even if Connor sends out the call to everyone and tells them not to trust us?”  
Nate smirked.  
“Everyone already knows not to trust us,” he pointed out, “so they deserve it if they do.”  
Taylor fell against the wall as the elevator went down.  
“And they don’t otherwise?” he had to ask.  
Nate shot him a glance, choosing to ignore it. Taylor was about to press him when the girl started coughing, and he focused on her for the moment instead.  
When the elevator reached the bottom Nate carried her out again, opting eventually to just pick her up and carry her over his arms. Taylor limped over to the button on the wall and hit it, hoping the doors would unlock. They did.  
“Is the car where I left it?” Taylor led the way, holding the door open for them.  
He watched the girl worriedly as she curled in to Nate’s chest.  
“I didn’t move it,” Nate assured.  
Taylor took one last glance backward before closing the door after them. He eyed the van in the driveway – wondering if they should take it – but figured the car was already loaded with the gear they needed. They hadn’t had trouble with anything other than the starter motor on it so far.  
He made it halfway up the drive before having to stop, Nate easily overtaking him and taking the girl to where the car was parked. After settling her into the backseat he got in himself and drove the car back to the driveway where Taylor had finally made it to the top. Once he was in Nate took off.  
Not a block away, Taylor jumped as a resounding boom echoed through the car.


	21. 21

“I can’t believe you did that,” Taylor groaned, covering his eyes as he leant back in the seat.  
“Really,” Nate drawled, “and you’ve known me for how long now?”  
Taylor held back saying ‘too long’. He needed Nate’s help now more than ever.  
He looked over his shoulder to check on the girl in the back, who had seemed to pass out again.  
“We need to find a hospital,” Taylor insisted.  
“Not in Tupelo we don’t,” Nate insisted, “we’ll just head north and see what we can find.”  
Taylor looked her body over, checking to see if there were any other obvious wounds. He couldn’t see anything. With a sigh he turned back and opened the glove compartment, pulling out Ross’ phone and turning it on. After it found service it started going ballistic with messages.  
“Why do you still have that?” Nate frowned, shooting him worried glances.  
“I figured we could use it against Connor somehow,” Taylor murmured, sifting through messages from multiple people.  
There weren’t any texts from Connor, but there were a few missed calls under his name.  
“How?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor admitted, turning the phone off as it started to ring again, “but it’s not going to be long before he works out Ross is dead.”  
He looked out the window, noticing it starting to rain. It was going to be a cold day.  
“Are you okay?”  
Taylor shot Nate a look, surprised at the unexpected question.  
“Why?” he asked.  
“You bled quite a bit,” Nate gave his leg a glance.  
Taylor hesitated before pulling it up onto the seat. He carefully rolled his jeans up again and inspected where the blood had deeply seeped into the bandages.  
“It looks bad,” he admitted, already feeling light-headed at the sight, “she might not be the only one who needs a hospital.”  
“That’s not a good idea,” Nate insisted.  
“So what, I’m supposed to bleed to death?” Taylor scorned, “need I add _again_?”  
“We can handle it,” Nate insisted, “we’ll drop the girl off and sort out your leg ourselves.”  
Taylor rubbed his face, returning his gaze to out the window. After the whole blood transfusion fiasco he knew Nate would know what he was doing. He wasn’t sure if he should be consoled by that or not.  
“Where are we headed?” he asked.  
“We’ll try Booneville first,” Nate eyed the GPS, “if we can’t find anything we’ll keep heading north.”  
“Have you taken your meds today?”  
“I took them first thing,” Nate assured.  
“Really? Because I didn’t see you do it,” Taylor insisted.  
“Would you like to count the pills and make sure one’s missing every day?” Nate scorned.  
“No, because you could just throw them out anyway,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “but I know you wouldn’t have them if you weren’t planning on taking them, so… I trust you.”  
Those last three words were hard to spit out, and Taylor’s face went red as soon as he’d said them. Nate just sighed, not registering the enormity of the moment.  
“I think we need more sleep,” Taylor rubbed his face again.  
“We’ll get your leg done first,” Nate insisted, “then worry about sleep.”


	22. 22

Taylor had opted to wait in the car as Nate took the girl into the hospital. She hadn’t regained consciousness in the half hour it had taken to get to Baptist Memorial, so Nate once again had to carry her. The plan was to say he’d found her passed out in the street with blood coming from her mouth, hoping that would tide the doctors over when they realised she couldn’t speak.  
In the meantime Taylor had pulled Ross’ phone again and was going through his contacts. He knew that Connor had left at least three voicemails.   
Taking note of the battery left on the phone, he dialled the voicemail number and put the phone to his ear. He had to sift through multiple calls from other people who Ross had obviously missed meetings with, but picking out Connor’s voice from the fray wasn’t exactly hard.  
“ _Evening Stuart… surprised to not get a hold of you at this hour. Just calling to check that everything went okay with Taylor tonight. Get back to me when you are free._ ”  
The very sound of his voice made Taylor gulp slightly. Trying not to dwell on it, he skipped through three more messages.  
“ _Stuart… you’re starting to make me nervous. I have warned you about this one, so I hope you went ahead with any necessary precautions. Call me this morning, will you?_ ”  
Taylor checked the time on that message. It had been a few hours earlier. Knowing that it was nearing midday already, he had a bad feeling about Connor’s final voicemail. When it finally played he felt his blood run cold.  
“ _Hello Taylor. I can only assume that either you or Nate have commandeered my friend’s cell phone by now. Rest assured we have reviewed the footage from our Oxford residence and measures are being taken accordingly. I have no doubt we will be seeing each other shortly. Have a nice day._ ”  
Taylor grit his teeth, making sure to save the message. When there was still no sign of Nate after clearing the rest, he eyed the phone warily as he began calculating exactly how much battery life he could use up without killing it.  
Deciding to take a gamble, he dialled.  
“Hello?”  
“Hey…” Taylor was hesitant, “Zac?”  
There was a pause on the line, before his brother’s voice lowered.  
“Tay, where the Hell are you?!” he demanded, “and what do you think you’re doing?!”  
“We’ve had this discussion,” Taylor knew it wasn’t going to be easy, “I just needed to… tell you something.”  
“What?! You do realise they’re going to record this call, right?”  
“I know,” Taylor assured, “I was just hoping to touch base with you first.”  
“Why, Tay? What is so damn specific that you couldn’t call Devon straight?”  
“I also needed time,” Taylor insisted, “it’ll take them longer to trace the call this way.”  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”  
“Listen,” Taylor insisted, “you’re going to be hearing about an explosion on the news. I don’t know what story they’re going to use to cover it, but it was Nate. It was me.”  
“An explosion?”  
“Somewhere near Oxford, Mississippi,” Taylor elaborated, “it was a base run by a guy named Stuart Ross. He’s dead, and I believe everyone else at the base is too. Also a place in Tupelo which they’re going to play off as an apartment complex. Basically… you don’t want to know what that one was.”


	23. 23

“So you’re really doing it. You’re really going after bases?” Zac darted a look either way down the corridor as he slowly made his way to the surveillance room.  
“That’s the plan, but it’s not going so well.”  
“What do you mean?” Zac frowned, cursing inside his head at Dekker leaving him alone for the moment.  
He heard Taylor sigh, and something creak in the background.  
“I’m not exactly… unscathed from the experience.”  
“So what’s new?” Zac couldn’t help but smirk as he rounded into the corridor that held the rooms.  
“I know. Plus Connor already knows what we’re doing.”  
“Tay maybe you should come in,” Zac tried to suggest, “if you know where they are we can always send troops after them. Get you out of the firing line.”  
“I don’t know where they are,” Taylor insisted, “only Nate does.”  
“So get him to give them up!”  
Zac made it to the door, finding only Jenkins in the room. He snapped his fingers to get the private’s attention and indicated his phone. Jenkins nodded and got to work.  
“You’re making it sound so easy,” Taylor already sounded tired.  
“Don’t make it harder than it has to be,” Zac insisted, “you’re gaining his trust, right? So talk him down. Get him to give up the locations, and we – or the army – can handle it.”  
Taylor didn’t reply for a time, and Zac hoped he was thinking it over.  
“I don’t know,” he said eventually, “I think Nate’s right about this one.”  
“Right about what?” Zac’s eyes lifted to the big screen where Jenkins was starting to zoom in on Taylor’s location.  
“I don’t think justice can be properly served with arrests and jail time.”  
“You don’t think they’ll get the death penalty?”  
“Did Connor? Has Seth?”  
“The trials haven’t even started!” Zac frowned, watching as the screen headed south-west.  
He covered the phone and whispered ‘Mississippi’ to Jenkins.  
“And they won’t have a chance to,” Taylor insisted, “they’ll be out just like Connor was.”  
“Tay, he knows where you are,” Zac felt the need to remind him, “we… might have a way to stop that. But you need to come back.”  
There was a hesitation on the line again.  
“It doesn’t involve slicing your arm open, but we’re pretty sure it’s gonna work,” Zac offered.  
“How sure?”  
Zac shrugged, mainly trying to think of how to keep his brother on the line.  
“Like… a lot, but not a hundred?” his brow furrowed, “definitely worth a try at least?”  
“How about I decide that?”  
It was Zac’s turn to hesitate.  
“Tay we’re trying to help you,” he knew he was starting to sound desperate, “we hate the idea of you running around out there with Connor on your ass. Not to mention you’re what… blowing bases up now? You don’t think there’s going to be repercussions for that?”  
“Goodbye Zac,” Taylor hung up.  
“Dammit!” Zac cursed before looking to Jenkins, “tell me you got something.”  
“Call came from Booneville, Mississippi,” Jenkins gave him a wink before grabbing his radio.


	24. 24

Taylor threw the phone into the glove compartment as Nate returned to the car. His abrupt goodbye to Zac had mostly been because he’d seen Nate leaving the hospital and didn’t want to be caught talking to his brother. On the other hand… he may have just put them both in danger.  
He waited until Nate was in the car.  
“We need to leave,” he insisted.  
Nate had been about to start the car when he paused and gave Taylor a curious look.  
“We were going to. Why the urgency?”  
Taylor covered his mouth as he avoided eye contact.  
“I called Zac,” he admitted, “the army might have got a location. I think I went overtime.”  
Nate cursed and started the car.  
“Why did you do that?” he demanded, pulling the car out before Taylor could replace his seatbelt.  
“I wanted to talk to him,” Taylor frowned, “I wanted to tell him what was going on. What we were doing.”  
“Why?”  
Taylor shrugged.  
“I don’t know. So the army knows when these places blow that they should be checked out maybe?”  
“So is it Zac you’re telling, or the army?” Nate demanded.  
“Both. They record his calls,” Taylor gave Nate a nervous glance.  
Nate sighed, before leaning forward slightly to look at a street sign.  
“We’re going to have to take back roads for a while,” he grabbed the GPS and threw it into Taylor’s lap, “we’ll head west. Cross over Arkansas, duck into Oklahoma and head down to Texas.”  
Taylor paused, his eyes narrowing.  
“No,” he shook his head, “not Texas.”  
“What?” Nate spared him a glance.  
“I don’t know, I have a bad feeling about it,” Taylor frowned.  
“About Texas?” Nate waited for Taylor’s nod, “why, because of Krüger?”  
“I don’t know. I just don’t want to go to Texas,” Taylor looked across at him, “and my gut said nothing about Tupelo, so if it’s telling me not to go to Texas… then I’m listening.”  
“Fine,” Nate sighed, “but we need to steer a wide berth around Tulsa.”  
“Let’s just… head for Arkansas, for now,” Taylor relented, “we need to stop somewhere anyway.”  
Nate looked down at Taylor’s leg, knowing what he meant.  
“We’ll get off the main highways. Cross over near Robinsonville or something,” Nate suggested, “see if we can find a motel once we’re out of the state.”  
“Sounds good,” Taylor sighed.  
He was definitely starting to feel the effects of the blood loss. He soon shuffled himself down in the seat and closed his eyes.  
“Don’t do that.”  
His eyes shot open and he looked across to Nate.  
“What?” he asked tiredly.  
“I’m gonna need you to stay awake,” Nate insisted, checking his mirrors, “if you pass out that means we might be in more trouble than I can deal with right now.”  
Taylor hesitated, but pulled himself up again.  
“Fine,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “but I need food too.”


	25. 25

“Did you get an exact location?” Devon’s eyes darted across the screen.  
“Down to a few blocks before it cut out,” Jenkins replied, typing away as usual, “there’s a hospital in that radius.”  
“Do you think…?” Zac looked across at Devon.  
“I’m willing to try anything at this stage,” Devon assured, “get me the security feeds from the hospital. Car lots, traffic cams, the lobby, anything. We want eyes on Taylor.”  
“On it,” Jenkins nodded.  
There was a sudden commotion in the doorway, and Zac turned to see Isaac rushing through the door.  
“What’s going on?” he demanded, “Monroe said something about a call from Tay?”  
“Yeah, he called me,” Zac gave Jenkins a glance, knowing he must have sent out the memo without anyone noticing, “he’s somewhere in Mississippi. I think Nate’s got him on a tight leash.”  
“Since when hasn’t he?” Isaac’s eyes went to the screen.  
It showed a bird’s-eye view of the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Booneville.   
“I wouldn’t get my hopes up about that,” Devon almost muttered, concentrating on the screens and touching his headset every now and then.  
Both Zac and Isaac gave him a glance, but didn’t bother responding.  
“So what’d he say?” Isaac turned to his brother.  
“He said they blew up a couple of the Creeds’ bases,” Zac folded his arms, “one in… Oxford, I think, and the other in a place called Tupelo.”  
“We’ve had confirmation of the explosion in Tupelo,” Jenkins offered, glancing up at the screen as a new window appeared.  
It was one of the traffic cameras from outside the hospital.  
“What about the other one?” Zac asked.  
“We’re working with the fire department. Nothing obvious yet, so it can’t have been inner city.”  
“A base wouldn’t be,” Devon offered, “it would be hidden. They need to look for something like a wildfire.”  
“Did he say anything else?” Isaac pressed.  
Zac shrugged.  
“Just that he doesn’t think the army will do right by the Creeds,” he said.  
“What do you mean? What does he mean by that?”  
“You know…” Zac shrugged again, “if the Creeds get caught, we know from experience they can very well get out again. I pointed out that their trials hadn’t started so they very well _could_ get the death penalty, but then he said chances were they’d escape again anyway.”  
Zac’s tongue massaged his bottom lip thoughtfully before he turned to look at Isaac.  
“I think he wants to kill them,” he admitted.  
“You don’t say,” Isaac was sarcastic, “when did you catch onto that?”  
“I was trying not to admit it, I guess,” Zac looked back at the screen on which three new cameras had now popped up, “but Tay’s actually on a hunt. He’s becoming a cliché.”  
“Let me guess… ‘the hunter becomes the hunted’?” Isaac smirked.  
“Vice versa, but yeah,” Zac gave him an amused grin, “and I have to admit… I kinda wish I was out there helping him.”  
“Don’t let Devon hear you say that,” Isaac mused.


	26. 26

“Are you sure about this?” Taylor had to ask.  
“Done it before,” Nate assured as he undid his belt, “just… not on someone else, I guess.”  
“You’ve done it on yourself?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“A couple of times.”  
Taylor’s eyes were glued as Nate took the belt off, stepping over to the head of the bed Taylor was laying on.  
“Open up,” he instructed.  
“Oh this is not gonna be good,” Taylor breathed, before doing as asked.  
Nate folded the belt over and wedged it between Taylor’s teeth. That done, he made his way down the left side to where Taylor’s bloodied leg sat atop a collection of towels.  
“Nod when you’re ready,” Nate looked up.  
Taylor took a deep breath through his nose, and nodded. Nate carefully cut the bandage away, Taylor barely making a sound as the sticky blood pulled against the open wound on its way off.  
Nate took a moment to inspect the damage properly before he began to go about cleaning the area. It took a lot longer than Taylor would have hoped, but he wasn’t in any position to argue Nate’s methods.  
Once Nate was done, Taylor closed his eyes the moment he saw him take up the needle and thread. He’d known it was coming, but a small part of him had still hoped he wouldn’t need it.  
The moment the needle went in he automatically pulled on the handcuffs holding his arms above his head. His jaw clenched on the belt and he squeezed his eyes shut in an effort not to make a sound.  
They were in a somewhat remote motel, but there were certainly enough other patrons to cast suspicions on that kind of noise coming from their room. The last thing they wanted was attention.  
“Hold on, we’re almost there,” Nate promised, “you’ve felt the worst of it.”  
Taylor tried to keep his breathing steady, thinking back to when Seth had given him the tracer. They’d stitched the wound in both his arm and his side then without anything for the pain, but he hadn’t been able to react.  
He could tell that Nate at least was trying to be fast. Seth had enjoyed the prolonging of his torture.  
At long last he felt the final stitches go in, and he blinked away the few tears that had managed to escape. Nate used some extra bandages he’d obtained in Tupelo to redress the area before finally getting to his feet again.  
He stepped over and took the belt from Taylor’s mouth.  
“Want me to go see if I can find any painkillers?” he offered.  
Taylor took a moment to catch his breath, staring at the ceiling as he thought it over.  
“Couldn’t hurt,” he replied finally, “can I sleep now?”  
“Go for it,” Nate smirked, packing up the backpack and dumping it onto his own bed, “you should be good to recover now.”  
“How long until we can move on?” Taylor turned his head to watch him.  
“We’ll spend the night here,” Nate insisted, “see how you are in the morning, but you should be good to go.”  
Taylor turned back to the ceiling, taking another deep breath.  
“Thanks,” he said softly.  
Nate quickly sifted through his wallet to make sure he had enough cash before heading for the door.  
“Back soon,” he promised before heading out.


	27. 27

“That’s not Taylor,” Zac’s eyes were on screen, “but that’s someone else we know.”  
Devon adjusted his headset.  
“Eyes on Devereux, Nathan,” he reported, “Booneville Baptist Memorial, approximately 11am. Requesting immediate dispatch to the area.”  
There was a silent pause as he received confirmation.  
“Thanks.”  
“What if they find them?” Isaac asked, watching on screen as Nate was seen placing the unconscious girl in a wheelchair.  
“They haul both their asses back here,” Devon replied before anyone else could.  
“What’s he doing?” Zac frowned, “and where would Tay be?”  
“He could have left him anywhere,” Isaac shrugged.  
“Not anywhere…” Jenkins spoke up, zooming one of the feeds from outside the hospital which was playing backwards.  
It showed Nate pulling the girl from a beaten up red car. They couldn’t make out his face, but they could see someone waiting in the passenger seat.  
“That’s him,” Devon confirmed with a keener eye, “forward that feed, I want to know where they go.”  
“On it.”  
All four watched as the feed sped up, Nate soon returning to the car and driving off. They were able to use traffic cameras to follow them down 9th Street onto Highway 4, before losing them as they turned off the main road.  
“Satellites?” Devon demanded as soon as it happened.  
Jenkins rushed to find them, soon pinpointing the area on screen.  
“You’re kidding me,” Devon sighed.  
“Too much tree cover,” Isaac shook his head.  
“Tay knew,” Zac frowned, “he knew the call would be traced, he told me straight out.”  
“You think they took the back roads on purpose?” Isaac asked.  
“Why else would they? Where could they possibly be going there?” Zac indicated the screen.  
“I want a BOLO out on the vehicle ASAP,” Devon said into his headset, “get eyes on the streets in Ripley, Corinth, Walnut and… Tiplersville. They could pass through any of those.”  
“There’s nothing in Tiplersville,” Jenkins looked up.  
“All the more reason they’d take it,” Devon pointed out, “I want the Tennessee-Mississippi border on lockdown.”  
“I know this isn’t the best time and everything,” Jenkins spoke up, eyes on his laptop, “but we just got confirmation on a fire just north of Oxford. They’re saying it’s an abandoned warehouse some town kids have sent up.”  
“That has to be it,” Zac insisted, watching Devon as he struggled with multiple conversations at once.  
“Right. Get the team sent out to Oxford to work with the fire department on that abandoned warehouse,” he sent in an order, “we need to work out what happened there and see if we can stop it happening again.”  
Zac held back from asking ‘why’ at that. He looked across at Isaac who offered nothing more than a shrug.  
“This is gonna be a long day,” Zac sighed.


	28. 28

“Hey… Ike?”  
Isaac looked up from where he was making coffee in the cafeteria.  
“I thought you were told to get some sleep,” Isaac’s eyes narrowed.  
“Too wired to sleep,” Devon shook his head as he came close enough to whisper, “I need to tell you something. And… I was kinda hoping you’d break it to Zac.”  
“Oh great,” Isaac smirked, “that doesn’t make it sound ominous or anything.”  
“It’s about Seth,” Devon looked around the room to make sure no one was listening in.  
“You have my attention,” Isaac paused before pulling his mug away, “has something happened? Did he give you something?”  
“He’s not giving us anything, and that’s the problem,” Devon admitted.  
Isaac hesitated.  
“Did we expect anything less of him?” he raised a brow.  
“Not really, but I’m gonna be honest with you…” Devon winced a little, “there’s no doubt what he’s guilty of, and we have everything we need to cover the basics for human trafficking, extortion, laundering and everything related to that. However when it comes to you guys? Specifically Tay and Zac?”  
Isaac’s frown deepened as he turned to face him.  
“There’s just no proof of anything he’s done,” Devon shook his head.  
“Excuse me?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, “did I just happen to lock myself in that cell in Wausau? And what about Tay and Zac in Chadron?”  
“There’s no security feeds from any of the bases, though we definitely saw the cameras there,” Devon assured, “Seth was not the only player in either town. Though we’re sure he headed operations. There’s nothing that specifically links him to personally carrying out any kind of… for lack of a better word – torture – on any of you.”  
“I’m sure Tay would have something to say to that,” Isaac smirked, finally taking a sip of his coffee.  
“I’m sure he would, but once again Tay’s not here,” Devon pointed out, “and unless either you or Zac can come up with some concrete evidence for us, Seth’s going to walk on those charges at least. Maybe more.”  
“How are we supposed to come up with any evidence?” Isaac shrugged, “I mean the only thing I can offer is that he certainly kidnapped me-“  
“We have those feeds,” Devon confirmed, “from when you and Vance were taken. And we have the phone call between Seth and Taylor. But all that proves is that you were taken, which is why I said it’s more of a problem for the other two. Zac went in of his own free will, and that will be heavily pointed out-“  
Isaac smirked incredulously.  
“-But for Tay there’s next to nothing evidence-wise. And I feel like if those potential charges are dropped, Seth will get nowhere near what he deserves for what he did to him.”  
“We don’t even know the full extent of what Seth did to him,” Isaac reasoned.  
“Exactly.”  
“So you’re saying we need Tay, basically.”  
Devon shrugged.  
“Great,” Isaac sighed, making to leave the cafeteria, “I’ll talk to Zac, see if we can’t come up with anything in the meantime.”


	29. 29

“What about the blackmail video?” Zac fired off straight away.  
“The what?”  
“The blackmail video!” Zac exclaimed, “when Seth shot Vance!”  
“Devon didn’t mention it,” Isaac realised, “but surely they can’t have forgotten. And Seth was definitely on screen, right?”  
“What, you don’t remember?” Zac scorned.  
“All I saw from my end was a camera lens,” Isaac reasoned, “and at the time I was more focused on the fact that Tay was there and they had a gun to his head.”  
“Where’s Devon now?”  
“Gone to bed, I hope. Guy’s strung out something terrible.”  
“Yeah I know,” Zac relented, “though I guess there’s no rush, huh?”  
“Jenkins get any further tracing Nate’s car?”  
“Nope,” Zac shook his head, “no idea where they’ve gone. Hopefully they just stopped somewhere in the middle and they’ll resurface tomorrow. Devon’s got the entire area pretty well locked down.”  
“Sounded like,” Isaac agreed, “let’s hope it’s enough.”  
He paused to finish off his coffee.  
“What about the girl?” he asked, slinging the empty mug lazily from two fingers.  
“The girl at the hospital?” Zac confirmed, “last I heard she hadn’t woken up yet. When Nate dropped her off apparently the story was that he found her dumped in an alley somewhere with blood around her mouth.”  
Isaac nodded, eyes darting as he thought.  
“Sounds like he’s covering for vocal surgery,” he admitted.  
Zac snapped his fingers.  
“But we’re not gonna find out until she wakes up, which they’re predicting will happen tonight at least.”  
“Good. Even if she can’t talk we should be able to get some answers out of her,” Isaac nodded.  
“I just hope they have that place locked down, you know what happened to Tay,” Zac pointed out.  
“Yeah…” Isaac rubbed his chin, “I might point that out when I go back in.”  
“Going now?”  
“Thought I might. Figured I’d catch up with Jenkins before going back to debrief Monroe.”  
“Cool,” Zac nodded, “I’ll call if I hear anything. I’m going to grab Kate and the kids for an early dinner.”  
“And I’ll tell Jenkins about the blackmail video,” Isaac returned, “I think his shift’s almost up anyhow.”  
“I think he needs sleep more than Devon,” Zac smirked.  
“Everyone’s on overtime,” Isaac turned to walk away.  
“Want me to take your mug back?” Zac offered.  
“I’m not done with it,” Isaac held it up as he kept walking.  
He made it back to the interrogation room, finding Jenkins getting his replacement –Whyte - up to speed. He waited for a break in conversation, thinking over what Devon had said as he took a seat.  
“Everything okay?” Whyte asked.  
“The video where Vance got shot,” Isaac asked straight, “do you still have that?”  
“We have everything,” Jenkins assured, “why?”


	30. 30

“He never actually tells them to shoot either of them.”  
“Are you kidding?!” Isaac demanded.  
Devon turned back, his eyes obviously red as the video played out on the screen behind him.  
“Pay attention Ike,” he insisted, “Seth’s obviously in charge, but as far as vocal commands go, he never gives the order. He just says ‘oh well’ and the guy takes it upon himself to shoot Vance. That’s how a court’s going to see it. It sucks, but it’s true.”  
Isaac ran his fingers through his hair, knowing Devon was right.  
“Can we manipulate this into our favour in any way?” Whyte asked from the laptop.  
“I did forget we had Tay here,” Devon pointed to the screen, “so we have video evidence that Taylor was at some point in Seth’s custody. At the very least that qualifies for deprivation of liberty charges on his part.”  
“If that’s all we can get he’s gonna be pissed,” Isaac scratched at his beard.  
“I can’t help that!” Devon insisted, “maybe we could do more for him if he bothered to come home!”  
“I’m not arguing that,” Isaac insisted.  
“Devon,” Whyte spoke up to get his attention, “go back to bed. Don’t make me call Andrews.”  
Devon rolled his eyes, giving the screen a glance before making to leave the room.  
“Sorry to get you up,” Isaac called over his shoulder.  
“I’m not the only one that should be going,” Devon pointed out before he disappeared.  
“ _Damn_ he’s getting grumpy,” Whyte muttered, taking the video from the screen and returning to the Mississippi surveillance feeds.  
“It’s getting to him,” Isaac agreed, taking a seat again to watch the screens.  
“If he’s not careful he’s going to be pulled off the case,” Whyte warned as he typed away, “he’s already making it personal, and I don’t believe Andrews knew about Henry.”  
“Has anyone told him yet?”  
“Not to my knowledge, but we’re all on Devon’s side,” Whyte shrugged, “however… if we can’t contain these little outbursts of his, he’s going to find himself in trouble. And a few us who’ve vouched for him will be too.”  
“How much trouble?” Isaac had to ask.  
“Formal reprimand,” Whyte shrugged, “definitely taken away from anything to do with the Creeds. Anything to do with you guys. Hopefully they wouldn’t go as far as dismissal but I could see forced leave on the cards for sure.”  
“Damn,” Isaac nodded.  
“Yep. Damn is right.”  
“I don’t know how you guys do it,” Isaac shook his head as he watched the screens, “day in, day out. Just looking. Waiting for something to pop up somewhere.”  
“Someone’s gotta do it,” Whyte shrugged.  
“I know,” Isaac nodded, “I just think you guys are seriously taken for granted.”  
Whyte smirked.  
“No need to tell me that,” he mused.  
“Jenkins tell you about the car? And the hospital?”  
“Yep. All caught up,” Whyte assured, “just watching the surrounding towns and borders. The car hasn’t shown up anywhere yet. But I’m willing to bet anything it soon will.”


	31. 31

Taylor gave a deep sigh as he finally awoke, soon cringing at the pain still in his leg and feeling the handcuffs still around his wrists.  
When he managed to open his eyes he looked over and saw Nate sitting on the opposite bed staring at him. The curtains behind him gave away no sunlight so it was already dark outside.   
When Nate didn’t move Taylor sighed again.  
“Nate that’s creepy,” he croaked out.  
“Sorry,” was Nate’s reply.  
He still didn’t move.  
“So stop,” Taylor insisted, “and untie me.”  
Nate hesitated. In that moment of hesitation, Taylor felt everything from the cabin come flooding back. When Nate finally stood he had to take another moment to get himself back together.  
Nate took the key from his pocket and leant over to unlock the cuffs.  
“Have you eaten?” Taylor tried to take his mind off it.  
“I have,” Nate replied, “but a while ago. There’s more in the fridge.”  
“How long was I out?” Taylor asked, rubbing his wrists as he sat up.  
“All afternoon. And evening.”  
Taylor watched as Nate returned the cuffs to his duffel before bringing his left leg up to inspect the bandaging. With the effort that had gone into it Taylor was starting to think Nate could have been a doctor in another life.  
A glance at the alarm clock showed it was almost 8pm.  
“Should we make a move?” Taylor scratched at his arm as he pulled himself from the bed, “use the cover of darkness?”  
Nate zipped up the duffel before turning to sit on the bed again.  
“I need sleep,” he admitted as Taylor went for the fridge, “I was just waiting for you to wake up and keep watch.”  
“You know, we talked about this,” Taylor opened the door and retrieved the takeaway container, “you can’t leave me cuffed to the bed. It’s not safe.”  
“I was here the whole time,” Nate frowned.  
“Don’t lie to me,” Taylor gave him a warning look before heading to the microwave.  
Nate looked disgruntled before pulling off his boots.  
“The food alone is proof you went out. Did you get any painkillers?”  
“Bathroom,” Nate nodded toward it, taking his jacket off before throwing the bedcovers aside.  
Taylor kept an eye on him as he set the microwave going before going to check. He found the pills by the basin and quickly checked over the box to make sure it was still sealed. With another sigh he broke it open and pulled out two pills, taking them in time for the microwave to beep.  
By the time he went back out, Nate appeared to be asleep. Knowing what a light sleeper he was Taylor didn’t buy it for a second.  
He retrieved the takeaway and took it to the table to eat, giving the food a onceover to make sure it looked plain and simple. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Nate might have tried something that night.  
It wasn’t long before he was done and headed in for a quick shower. By the time he’d come out he could tell that Nate was definitely asleep for real, so he took up his own bed again to simply keep his eye on the door for the rest of the night.


	32. 32

“Yep. Copy that. No, they’ve all headed off for the night but there’s still a few of us scattered here and there. I’ll confirm it with them when they wake up.”  
Zac sat with his arms folded, eyes darting between the screens and Whyte as he spoke into his headset.  
“Get back to me if she remembers anything urgent,” Whyte ended the call.  
“They didn’t get much out of her I take it?” Zac guessed.  
“She identified Taylor… and Nate,” Whyte confirmed, “her claim is they saved her.”  
“I think that was the idea, taking her to a hospital and all,” Zac smirked.  
Whyte shrugged.  
“The guys scouting Tupelo have found some messed up crap in that place.”  
“What do you mean?” Zac frowned.  
Whyte hit a few buttons before indicating the screen. Zac looked up to see what looked like crime scene photos, taken in the burnt wreckage of the building.   
“What am I looking at?” he asked.  
“Well this…” Whyte highlighted the photo in the top right, “is the charred remains of a man with no legs.”  
Zac grimaced and unfolded his arms to cover his mouth.  
“There were people in there?” he asked.  
“Yep,” Whyte confirmed, “multiple. Most of them burned alive.”  
“Tay wouldn’t do that,” Zac shook his head.  
“Well like you said, they did save the girl…” Whyte shrugged, “but considering the layout of the building I highly doubt they could have missed the rest. This over here…”  
He highlighted the top left.  
“Is the skeletal remains of a man about your age. Doesn’t look like he had much else on him to begin with.”  
“What was this place?” Zac shook his head, remembering Taylor’s words, “it can’t have been a base. There’s no way these people could have been sent through training.”  
“I’ve heard of something like it,” Whyte considered, “I wasn’t sure if they still ran, but there’s your proof. These people want to be able to sell their charges to the highest bidder and keep a happy customer, right?”  
Zac nodded, knowing all too well first hand.  
“So what if the customer wants that person, with different coloured hair? Or they don’t need them to use their hands, so why should they have any?”  
“It’s a surgery?” Zac frowned, “I mean I knew they did stuff like this, and I knew about them ripping peoples’ vocal chords out, but _legs_? Who doesn’t need legs?!”  
“Sometimes they just want to teach them a lesson too,” Whyte shrugged, “maybe the guy tried to run.”  
“If that’s the case then I’m surprised Tay and I still have ours.”  
Whyte pulled up one of the bottom photos.  
“I thought they did this sort of stuff onsite though, I didn’t know they had an entire… place for it.”  
“The larger bases would, I’d guess,” Whyte suggested, “like the ones Seth and Connor run themselves.”  
“Makes sense,” Zac shrugged, “I know Tay was given the tracer onsite at Chadron.”


	33. 33

Taylor was looking out the window when Nate finally roused sometime before sunrise. A glance at the clock told him it was just after 4:30am.  
“Morning,” Taylor greeted, not moving from his position by the window.  
Nate darted a look across at him, struggling to open his eyes.  
“Go have a shower and take your meds,” Taylor insisted, “I want to hit the road before sunup.”  
Nate grunted as he pulled himself out of bed, reaching down into his duffel for a change of clothes.  
“What for?” he asked tiredly.  
“What do you think ‘what for’?” Taylor scorned, “I want to find another base. I want to hurt Connor.”  
Nate looked up in surprise. He knew that was why Taylor was there, but it was odd to hear him say it out loud. Even after the last couple of days.  
“Okay,” Nate nodded.  
He pulled himself up and staggered toward the bathroom. When he closed the door behind him Taylor took another look outside.  
He knew he’d have to drive once Nate took his medication, and he knew he needed sleep himself. But staying in the same motel for over twelve hours already had him on edge. There was absolutely no reason that he could see why Connor couldn’t or wouldn’t just send some lackeys after them. Especially once he figured out what had happened to Ross.  
Then of course he couldn’t shake the feeling that his call with Zac had also put the army on their trail.  
As soon as Nate emerged Taylor insisted that they leave. Nate didn’t take long to get his things together and they soon headed out to the car.  
After Taylor got in to drive, he noticed that Nate had paused at the side of a powder blue sedan belonging to the occupants of the next room over. He was looking around casually as if waiting for something. It didn’t take long for the two to make eye contact, and Taylor gave him a nod.  
Nate opened the back door and threw his duffel in before Taylor started the car and began back down the highway. It wasn’t long before he saw the sedan catching up in the rear view mirror.  
After driving for a further ten minutes or so Taylor began looking for a place to dump the red car. He soon pulled in to a cove of trees at the side of the road, shutting the car off and opening the trunk before getting out. Nate pulled up behind him as Taylor started gathering their things from the trunk and quickly transferring into the new car.  
“Were you okay to drive?” he asked once Nate got out.  
“Not a problem,” Nate insisted, closing the door and going to help.  
They soon had the car loaded, had switched license plates, and had hidden the red car in fallen branches from the surrounding trees. Taylor found the new car much easier to drive, and it had a lot more room in case they needed to sleep in there too.  
“So where are we headed?” Taylor gave Nate a glance as he fiddled with the GPS.  
“Well… if you don’t want to go to Texas…” he murmured, “we’re going to have to head north.”  
“Anything close range up there?”  
“A few,” Nate nodded, “there’s another one close to Con’s. Another of Seth’s out east, and then just Krüger’s other two in Texas.”  
Taylor hesitated at that. Maybe his pause at revisiting Texas _was_ because of Krüger. He remembered Charlie once telling him that his Master had ‘many homes’.


	34. 34

“Morning,” Isaac greeted Whyte’s replacement as he walked in with his morning coffee.  
He did a double take when he saw who it was.  
“Morning Isaac,” came the slight British accent.  
Isaac checked over his shoulder. He’d been alone in the room, keeping tabs on the Mississippi feeds. Turning back with an eyebrow raised, he took up the closest seat to the laptop.  
“So when did you get back?” he mused.  
“Last night. Got put to work straight away. Like the dogs we are.”  
“Does Zac know?”  
“Nope, only… Whyte and Devon know I think.”  
“Devon? Is he around already?”  
“He was having trouble sleeping. Caught him sneaking a midnight snack before my shift started.”  
Isaac smirked.  
“Yeah… Devon’s a bit strung out at the moment,” he admitted, “but how are you, more importantly? I haven’t heard anything since… well, since it happened I guess.”  
“I’ve been physically cleared to return to a desk job, but I’m not allowed out in the field yet,” he shrugged, “doesn’t bother me, I’m not in a rush to get shot at again.”  
“Haddon?!”  
Isaac jumped as they heard Zac’s exclamation from the hallway. Haddon looked up and grinned, having trouble keeping his eyes on the feeds.  
“Hey Zac,” he greeted before Zac ducked over and gave him a high five before shaking his hand.  
“What are you doing here?!”  
“They cleared him for work,” Isaac mused, shifting over so that Zac could sit closer before returning to his coffee.  
“So you’re back on the case?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“I challenge you to find someone with more personal experience,” Haddon’s eyes narrowed comically.  
“Well there was Vance,” Isaac considered, “but he’s dead.”  
“So I heard,” Haddon nodded.  
“And Devon’s cousin…” Zac considered, “but for firsthand experience I think you have everyone beat.”  
“Devon’s cousin?” Haddon frowned, again struggling to keep his eyes on screen.  
“You didn’t know?” Zac waited for Haddon to shake his head before explaining, “a cousin of his was abducted by the Creeds about seven years ago.”  
“It’s why he’s taking the whole thing so personally,” Isaac offered, back to watching the screen.  
“Yeah. And it turned out he was taken in by Fowler.”  
“Fowler?” Haddon’s eyebrows rose, “huh. What are the odds of that?”  
“I wouldn’t know,” Zac shrugged, “we don’t know how far the operation runs. But his cousin got shot by the army when they came to get me just over a week ago…”  
“I heard you’d been having some adventures,” Haddon nodded, “though nothing like the one Taylor appears to be on at the moment.”  
“Understatement,” Isaac tipped his mug.  
“How’s the cousin doing?” Haddon asked.  
“Still in a stable condition. Not sure if he’s woken up or not, we don’t hear much of it,” Zac shrugged.


	35. 35

“You really think this is the best way to go about this?” Taylor asked somewhat nervously.  
“Hey,” Nate lifted his rifle, “if you want to waltz up to the front door and announce you’re there to give yourself up again, you be my guest. But I don’t like the odds of it working a third time for you.”  
“Connor said they’d taken ‘measures’,” Taylor frowned, “what do you think he meant by that?”  
“If they’re only working from Oxford?” Nate shrugged, “what did you do at Oxford?”  
“Slit the guard’s wrist, took his gun, shot the other one… that was about it,” Taylor admitted.  
“So they’re going to know you’re armed,” Nate pointed out.  
“Well I lost the belt in Tupelo, but…”  
Taylor held up one of the handguns they’d commandeered at the last base.  
“I think it’ll be obvious this time, don’t you?”  
Nate smirked as he set his backpack on the edge of the trunk and pulled out a grenade to put in his pocket.  
“But I have to ask,” Taylor insisted, “do you really think gung-ho is going to work, or are we headed straight into a firing squad?”  
“Connor knows you’re coming, right?” Nate pointed out, “he will have warned them not to shoot you. I hardly think they’re going to open fire no matter what you do. Facing Connor’s wrath is a little more… let’s say, uninviting.”  
Taylor smirked, lowering his head in agreement.  
“Do you have a knife?” Nate asked.  
“Nope. Tupelo,” Taylor reminded him.  
Nate fished in his bag, pulling out a switchblade and handing it over.  
“Here. You’ll probably need one.”  
Taylor took it, taking a moment to look it over. He tried to keep a straight face as he recognised the blade being the same one that had left a lot of scars down his arms and chest.  
With a sigh he slipped it into a front pocket.  
“Ready?” Nate raised a brow.  
“No,” Taylor admitted, clicking the handgun off safety regardless.  
Nate smirked, replacing the backpack and closing the trunk.  
“We’ll be fine. Come on.”  
He began to lead the way through the trees, toward the northern Minnesota base they knew belonged to Seth. It had taken just about all day and night to get there, and it was already nearing 9pm.   
The two froze in the dark when they heard a chuckle in the trees somewhere to their left.  
Taylor waited for Nate to make a move first. He waited a few seconds – which felt like hours – before pulling out a flashlight and shining it in the direction of the sound.  
“This isn’t Deliverance, you can come on out!” he announced, rifle at the ready.  
Taylor’s head spun as he heard a footstep in the trees behind him. Aiming his handgun at shadows, he flinched when Nate’s flashlight turned and landed on two smug faces.  
Taylor immediately recognised one of them as one of the guards who’d taken him to Chadron.  
“Crap,” he breathed as Nate turned the light away again, another emerging in the opposite direction.  
“Did you really think you could sneak up on us?” the man beside Taylor’s guard smirked.  
An identical chuckle came from the man behind Nate.


	36. 36

“Nope. No sneaking,” Nate assured, gun trained on his approachee as Taylor covered the speaker and his old guard.  
“What are you doing here, Taylor?” Taylor had to blink as his guard spoke.  
“I could ask you the same thing,” he couldn’t stop a slight quiver in his voice, “you’re a long way from home.”  
“You don’t know where my home is,” the guard assured.  
“I thought you were Seth’s bitch?”  
“While it’s nice to catch up…” Nate drawled, “let’s get this show on the road shall we?”  
“I still work for Seth,” the guard ignored Nate, “but Connor’s the one who sent me here.”  
Taylor paused at that, his eyes widening slightly. It took Nate shifting his feet to snap him out of it.  
“Why?” Taylor blinked, raising the gun slightly as his arms already ached.  
“For you of course,” the guard seemed to frown.  
“You’re supposed to take me in?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“For Christ’s sake,” Nate muttered, firing two quick bullets into the man in front of him.  
Taylor jumped at the discharge, standing to the side as Nate turned once he went down.  
The guard casually raised his hands, not looking at all intimidated by the two weapons now aimed at him.  
“Why not wait for us to walk up to the door? Why the welcoming party?” Nate demanded.  
“We thought you might have had car trouble,” the guard offered, “we saw the tracer stop a mile or so down the road. Thought we’d help you the rest of the way.”  
Taylor’s eyes fell to something on the ground reflecting Nate’s flashlight. When he saw that it was a bag likened to the one Jerry used to carry, he had a bad feeling he knew exactly what was in it.  
“Permission to take Nate out?”  
Both Taylor and Nate’s eyes darted across to the second man as he spoke into an earpiece – softly, but there wasn’t any other noise to mask it.  
“Do you have some sort of sentimental attachment to this man?” Nate asked curiously.  
“What? No,” Taylor scorned.  
He felt a slight chill when Nate’s voice suddenly lowered.  
“Then what are you waiting for?”  
He knew the tonal change meant that Nate’s medication must have been wearing off, but he also knew he had a point. Before Taylor could truly put two and two together in his mind, he’d already pulled the trigger.  
The second man jumped and backed off as the guard went down, but Nate put another two into his chest before he could get far.  
“Come on,” Nate gave Taylor a pat on the shoulder as Taylor still held the gun in both hands nervously, “let’s get on with it.”  
Taylor waited as Nate began walking again, giving the guard’s body one last glance before following. In moments like these he couldn’t help but stop and wonder at how common being around death was starting to be.  
But they were on a mission. He had to stay focused.  
They came to the fence of the base soon afterward, a guard standing by the gates presumably in wait for his comrades to come back with guests. Nate put him down on sight before leading Taylor straight up to the building and simply opening the front door.


	37. 37

“It’s been over twenty-four hours,” Zac frowned as he watched the screen with his arms folded, “they wouldn’t have stayed around Booneville. It’s not their MO.”  
“They have an MO already?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Nate wouldn’t,” Zac looked over his shoulder at him, “especially not with Taylor in tow. And not if they’re on a mission. It wouldn’t make sense.”  
“I’m with Zac on this one,” Devon shook his head, “Jenkins do me a favour and contact local law enforcement in the area. See if anyone’s missing a car.”  
“On it,” Jenkins assured, typing away already.  
“Even if they swapped cars, surely someone would have spotted them on the way out?” Isaac pointed out.  
“They can’t stop every single car on every single back road,” Devon stepped closer to the screen, keeping an eye on a satellite feed over one of the towns west of Booneville, “and we already know Nate’s pretty good at avoiding the army. He’s had plenty of practise over the years.”  
Zac smirked.  
“Two cars reported stolen in the last day,” Jenkins looked up at Devon, “one from a personal residence in Corinth, one from a highway motel in between-“  
“That one,” Devon snapped his fingers, “the motel. That’s the one. Get the specs and give me some surveillance.”  
“On it,” Jenkins quickly pulled up a picture of a similar make and model of the car and a satellite feed just over the motel.  
A quick rewind of the footage showed both the blue and red cars leaving in the early hours of the morning. Though they couldn’t see the true colour of the red car in the dark, they were all willing to bet on it being Nate’s car.  
Tree cover was a hindrance but as soon as the blue car emerged without the red one Devon ordered a team out to the highway in question to find it.  
“We should have done this earlier,” Zac shook his head, “then they would have had daylight to go by at least.”  
“No use second guessing now,” Devon insisted, “let’s just see where they’ve gone.”  
“They’re onto an interstate,” Jenkins announced, “they’re not staying local.”  
“They’re going after another base,” Zac stated the obvious.  
“I really wish Seth would start talking,” Jenkins mused.  
“No hope of that,” Devon insisted, “we had Connor for a year and he gave up nothing.”  
“Seth’s younger, you never know,” Jenkins shrugged.  
“They’re still brothers,” Devon assured, before realising what he’d said and giving Zac a smirk.  
Zac narrowed his eyes, unamused. Devon took it as a cue to return his eyes to the screen.  
“Traffic cam report?” he cleared his throat.  
“They’re heading north,” Jenkins sighed, “I’ll know more in maybe a half hour?”  
“Coffee round?” Isaac suggested, “looks like it’s going to be another long night.”  
Zac jumped as his phone rang.  
“Sounds good,” Devon nodded.  
“Zac?” Isaac offered, waiting to leave as Zac stared at his phone.  
“I don’t know the number,” he looked up to Jenkins, “think it might be Tay?”  
Isaac paused before the doorway as the four shared a hopeful glance.


	38. 38

“Hello Zac. A friend of mine passed along your number, I hope you don’t mind…”  
Zac’s eyes widened and he immediately looked to Jenkins and indicated the phone.  
“Which friend?” his voice broke – mainly in a rush to answer and not so much for intimidation.  
“Oh that doesn’t matter. I wanted to talk to you.”  
Jenkins started the trace as Devon darted over to Zac. He indicated for Zac to put the phone on speaker.  
“Why do you want to talk to me?” Zac asked as he fiddled with the phone before managing to do so.  
Isaac shadowed his shoulder.  
“I never got to say goodbye.”  
Devon’s eyebrows rose as Zac’s eyes locked on his. Devon mouthed ‘is that Fowler?’ to which Zac nodded slowly.  
“So you’re calling to do that?” Zac frowned, his eyes back on Jenkins.  
“Of course not,” Fowler assured, “quite the contrary.”  
Zac’s eyebrows rose and he looked to Devon again.  
“I don’t doubt that I will see you again soon.”  
“Why?” Zac asked straight away as Isaac frowned.  
He ducked over to Jenkins’ laptop to watch the trace.  
“I believe I told you why. At length.”  
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Zac tried to assure, “why don’t you focus your energy on getting your real son out of jail instead?”  
“Nigel needs to learn a lesson or two,” Fowler returned, “I don’t mind leaving him in the custody of the authorities at least until he is fully healed.”  
Zac looked over to Isaac and Jenkins. Isaac quickly indicated for Zac to keep talking.  
“Ah… so I guess that means you’re planning to bust him out. You know that he and I don’t really-“  
Zac cut off as the line suddenly went dead. His eyes shot to Jenkins.  
“Twenty-nine seconds,” Jenkins sighed, making Isaac curse.  
“What was the estimate?” Devon asked.  
“North-west. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came from Alaska.”  
“You were right,” Zac looked at Devon as he still held the phone, “he’s not done.”  
“It’s never over until it’s over,” Devon’s eyebrows rose before he moved around to look over Jenkins’ shoulder.  
His eyes darted across the screen before he pointed down to it.  
“This general area here? Or anywhere in there?” he specified.  
“Call definitely came from in the circle,” Jenkins indicated a flashing line.  
“The cabin we picked him up in is in the circle,” Devon realised, quickly touching his headset to open another line, “I need authority to send a team out to scout the cabin where we found Zac last week. We just got a call from Fowler and triangulation suggests he either never left or he’s based somewhere nearby.”  
Zac’s eyes fell on Isaac as he left Jenkins’ side and made his way over.  
“Tay was right,” he frowned.  
“About what?” Isaac returned the look.  
Zac turned his eyes to Devon, reluctant to say out loud what he was thinking.  
“Thanks. Get them to report back to me. I need to update Andrews,” Devon ended his call.


	39. 39

Taylor opened the door into the office just in time to see Nate put a bullet through each of the eyes of the man he was standing over. By the time he’d registered what had happened, Nate already had eyes on him.  
“Everything okay?” he asked casually.  
“Yeah,” Taylor gave the body beneath him a sideways look, “are we wired to go yet?”  
“Not quite,” Nate rearmed his weapon before making his way over to the desk.  
“What’s taking so long?” Taylor frowned, “you wired the other two in half the time.”  
“There’s more people here, and they’re not all accounted for,” Nate rolled his eyes as he opened the desk drawers.  
He pulled out some paperwork and threw it onto the floor as he rummaged through in his search for either more weapons or anything else that might be able to help them.  
“How many are we missing?” Taylor checked over his shoulder before stepping further into the room just in case.  
Nate grunted as he leant over, eyes to the ceiling as he thought.  
“Five maybe?” he seemed to guess, “all guards, but a couple of them are big players. I wouldn’t be surprised if they flew the coop as soon as they realised we were here.”  
“You don’t think they’d stay and fight?”  
“I don’t know either way,” Nate shrugged, finding two more handguns and some ammunition to add to his backpack, “and we don’t know what Connor’s told them.”  
“If they did run…” a thoughtful look crossed Taylor’s face, “where do you think they’d go?”  
“Probably hightail it to Con’s other base,” Nate returned the backpack to his shoulder before making his way to the door, “why?”  
“No stone unturned,” Taylor shrugged.  
Nate paused in the doorway, looking him over. Then he nodded and headed down the corridor to the left.  
“How much have you got left?” Taylor called after him, “want me to set some somewhere?”  
“I’m almost done,” Nate waved him off without turning back, “why don’t you go on your little hunt for survivors?”  
Taylor winced as Nate disappeared from sight. They’d already come across a row of holding cells, and every person in them had been killed before they’d even got there. Taylor had to wonder if Connor was trying to send a message.  
Walking back down the corridor toward the training rooms of the base gave Taylor an eerie feeling. The layout was similar but not the same as Chadron. It was just enough to keep him on edge.  
When he heard something metallic make a sound in one of the rooms up ahead, his back hit the wall. Nate had gone in the opposite direction, so it wouldn’t have been him setting the explosives.  
With a quick check over his shoulder to make sure he was still alone in the corridor, he slowly began to make his way to the open doorway.  
By the time he was a couple of feet away he could tell there was definitely someone in the room. He took a moment to take a deep breath, knowing what he had to do, before quickly darting into the doorway and raising the gun at the room’s occupant.  
Or occupants.  
Taylor’s gun darted between the three large men, all heavily armed and with their eyes on him.  
“Oh crap,” he breathed.


	40. 40

“Call him.”  
Taylor grunted as he was forced down to his knees. One of them had hold of his hair, one had hold of his right arm, and one had hold of his gun.  
“Why should I?” he scowled.  
He grunted again as the one who’d taken his gun hit him across the jaw. He certainly hadn’t missed that.  
“Call him,” the guard repeated.  
“Where is he?” another demanded.  
“Finishing the rest of you off I hope,” Taylor almost sighed.  
The one who had hold of his hair pulled tighter as another blow was aimed at his face. When the guard realised he’d dazed him with the last hit he let go of his hair and dragged him back to his feet.  
They took the opportunity in Taylor’s momentary inability to fight back to land a few punches to his gut. Considering it still hadn’t healed over from Taylor’s sessions with Connor it hurt him a lot more than they probably realised.  
When he was well and truly winded they let him fall to the ground with a groan.  
“NATHAN?” one of them yelled as Taylor heard a gun arming.  
He struggled to push himself up with his hands, having to spit to the side as he did so. He was relieved to see no blood in it for once.  
“Stay down,” one of them warned him, making Taylor look up with a glare in his eyes.  
He took a foot in the back as one of the men realised he had another gun in the back of his belt and leant down to retrieve it. Taylor tried to breathe evenly as he waited for the weight to be removed, focusing on what else he could use instead.  
“NATHAN? WE HAVE HIM!” the call went out again.  
“He’s busy,” Taylor scorned, feeling the foot dig in further as he spoke.  
“You shut up,” came the order.  
Taylor’s scowl only deepened. He began judging his chances of getting hold of the switchblade while he was still being held down.  
Nate suddenly appearing in an opposite doorway was an unexpected but welcome distraction.  
“Nate,” one of the guards nodded as Taylor looked up.  
He and Nate made eye contact before Nate’s eyes narrowed and he looked to the guards.  
“So what’s the plan, boys?” he asked casually, stepping further into the room.  
“We have orders to take you to Connor,” one of the guards answered.  
Taylor turned his head to gauge where they each were, but he couldn’t move much further with the weight still on his back. When his eyes turned to Nate again Nate gave him a small smile and Taylor’s eyes lowered in calculation.  
“And how do you plan to do that?” Nate shrugged, stopping about five yards away but keeping his hands apart to show he wasn’t currently armed, “surely you know the two of us would rather die?”  
“Maybe you would,” the guard corrected, “but how about your little friend here?”  
Taylor took deep breaths as he felt the guard’s eyes on him, before looking up to Nate again.  
Nate looked down at him again before he gave the guards a confident smirk.  
“You boys seem to think I’m the one running the show,” his eyebrows rose.  
Taylor’s hand darted back and grabbed the switchblade from his pocket, flicking it open in a millisecond and stabbing it straight into the guard’s calf muscle.


	41. 41

The guard yelled out and backed away before the other two could figure out what was happening. In the distraction Nate had pulled Ryan’s gun and planted a bullet in the shoulder of one of them, but Taylor was already back on his knees and lunging for the guard he’d stabbed.  
Unable to fight off the unexpected approach, the guard toppled as Taylor wrenched the blade out of his leg. Taking advantage of him being on the ground Taylor kicked himself forward and sank the switchblade into the man’s chest instead.  
“What the-?“  
Nate had taken a second aim at the guard he’d caught in the shoulder and managed to put him down with a head shot. By now the remaining guard had finally put two and two together and decided to back away with Taylor’s gun aimed on Nate.  
“Did Connor also order you not to shoot us?” Nate raised a brow, the golden gun already aimed for the man’s head.  
“Only to kill,” the guard corrected as Taylor finally looked up.  
He took hold of the blade’s handle as the guard aimed the gun slightly lower. Before Nate realised and had time to pull the trigger Taylor had already lunged again.  
Not expecting Taylor to come from the side the guard stumbled with the hit. The gun went off as Nate watched on – not wanting to fire in case he hit Taylor – but when Taylor sank the blade into the man’s back he soon dropped the gun before falling to his knees.  
Taylor’s eyes followed him as he fell, before he managed to twist the knife and pull it free. The guard was gone even before he fell forward onto his stomach.  
There was an awkward moment of silence as Nate just stood staring at Taylor. It took Taylor a moment to catch his breath and control his adrenaline again, but when he did he finally looked up and caught his eye.  
“What?” he demanded.  
“Nothing,” Nate didn’t even frown.  
He paused a moment longer before putting his gun away.  
“You said five,” Taylor looked down at them, “so where’s the other two?”  
“Accounted for,” Nate assured with a nod as Taylor went to retrieve his fallen gun, “they were up the other end.”  
“And the explosives?”  
“All set.”  
Nate looked suddenly reluctant to turn his back as Taylor closed the bloodied switchblade and put it away, but he returned to the doorway he’d come through to retrieve the backpack from where he’d dropped it.  
“So that’s it?” Taylor made sure.  
“That’s it, let’s move,” Nate confirmed, giving him a nod to indicate the direction they needed to go.  
Taylor followed without looking back. It didn’t take them long to find their way out – through the front door where they’d come – and when they got to the main gates Nate used his cell phone to set off the detonator.  
The two of them paused and looked back to watch the building collapse in. Before the dust settled, Nate gave Taylor another look.  
“I think if you wanted to piss Connor off, we seem to be doing it right,” he suggested.  
“Good,” was all Taylor said before turning on his heel and leading the way back to the car.


	42. 42

“He didn’t say anything else?” Whyte asked with a confused look.  
“You can listen to the call yourself,” Jenkins assured, pointing to the listing on the laptop screen.  
“It sounded like he was well aware of the time he was taking,” Zac insisted, “he knew he had to cut off or the call would be traced. Just like Seth did when he was harassing Taylor in Tulsa.”  
“Sounds like something they’d make each other aware of,” Isaac agreed.  
“Did Devon send a team out?”  
“First thing he did,” Zac nodded, “we haven’t heard back. I don’t think they’re there yet.”  
“ETA in twenty,” Jenkins assured them, “we’ll hear back once they’ve scoped out the property. They’ll want to make sure there isn’t anywhere to hide and it’ll take a while for them to do that thoroughly.”  
Zac jumped as his phone received a message. All eyes were on him as he checked it.  
“Is it him?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“It’s not the same number,” Zac frowned.  
After a pause he stepped over to Jenkins and handed him the phone.  
“It’s co-ordinates,” he was confused.  
“Co-ordinates?” Isaac mirrored his frown.  
Jenkins took the phone and gave Whyte the digits. He quickly began typing away again.  
“If it _was_ Fowler, what am I supposed to do with them?” Zac looked between them.  
Both Jenkins and Whyte looked up to the big screen as a satellite feed came up of the area in question. It wasn’t hard to spot the blaze.  
“It was Tay!” Zac realised, hurriedly reaching out to take the phone back from Jenkins.  
Jenkins kept it out of his reach as Whyte also quickly tried to run a trace on the number.  
“Jenkins-“  
“Just wait,” he insisted, eyes going between the screen and the laptop.  
“They hit another base,” Isaac shook his head, stepping over to the screen.  
“He obviously didn’t want to call in case we traced him again,” Zac watched him.  
“We should be able to tell where the text came from,” Whyte didn’t bother looking up.  
“If it’s still on fire they could still be somewhere there,” Isaac looked over his shoulder, “are there any scouts nearby?”  
Jenkins looked up at the screen thoughtfully.  
“Looks like it’s just off the highway between Duluth and Grand Rapids,” Whyte murmured.  
“The Wausau team,” Jenkins looked to Whyte.  
Whyte adjusted his headset as he put out the call.  
“You still have people there?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“It’s on lockdown,” Jenkins assured as Whyte issued orders, “Devon was the only team member to return to the Pentagon.”  
Isaac nodded before smirking as Zac stole back the phone Jenkins had left on the table. Jenkins just rolled his eyes as Zac found the message again and tried calling the number.  
“Damn,” he cursed when the call wouldn’t go through.  
“At least he’s hinting at where he is,” Isaac shrugged, turning back to the screen and looking over the map.  
“A lot of good that does us when Connor knows exactly where he is,” Zac almost scowled, “someone better get Devon out of that meeting. If they made it to Minnesota they could be anywhere again.”


	43. 43

“What happened?” Devon sounded like he was walking in on a room full of children with guilty faces.  
“Text from Taylor,” Zac answered straight off.  
“He led us to their latest bonfire,” Whyte supplied, Jenkins having just left.  
“A text?” Devon frowned as he closed the door behind him, “where did it come from?”  
“Highway 2, which is the main road out there,” Whyte replied, “they were on the move and there was too much traffic to pin point their car.”  
“Traffic cams? Gas stations?” Devon fired off.  
“Sent out the word. Haven’t heard anything.”  
“They can’t just disappear into thin air,” Zac shook his head, before jumping as the door opened again.  
He locked eyes with Isaac who was returning with a round of coffee.  
“Unfortunately that’s what Nate’s best at,” Devon sighed, dumping a file he’d been carrying onto one of the desks before taking a cup Isaac offered, “thanks.”  
“I have a feeling we’ll need it,” Isaac sounded less than optimistic.  
Devon gave him a knowing look before retrieving one of the headsets and slipping it on. He immediately placed a call.  
“Get me a line with Carter. I have something he might want to use tonight.”  
“Who’s Carter?” Zac looked up curiously.  
“Seth’s interrogator,” Whyte replied, knowing Devon was concentrating.  
“Seth’s still in interrogation?” Isaac looked surprised.  
“I don’t know about ‘still’,” Whyte shrugged, “but they’re certainly having a good go at him.”  
“Even though he’s saying nothing,” Zac folded his arms again.  
“Can’t give up this soon,” Whyte pointed out, “and Seth has all the time in the world.”  
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Isaac muttered before sipping at his coffee and taking a seat.  
“Copy that,” Devon ended his call and looked to Whyte, “Carter’s going to update the line when it’s done. Link me.”  
“Will do,” Whyte assured.  
“Now about Taylor…” Devon returned his eyes to the screen, “if the text came from here… how long ago?”  
“About forty-five,” Zac replied.  
“It looks like they’re headed back through Duluth, possibly skirting the city,” Devon indicated with his finger, “Whyte I want eyes on the highways heading both east and south. See if we can find that blue car anywhere.”  
“I’ll hit the traffic cams,” Whyte promised, “but as I said, no luck so far.”  
“They could have stopped off somewhere and we wouldn’t know,” Zac pointed out.  
“Carter’s online,” Whyte suddenly announced, cutting into the conversation.  
“Carter, hit me,” Devon spoke into his headset, “…you what? Just now?”  
Zac gave Isaac a glance. He was busy staring at the map on screen again.  
“Can we can that feed on screen here?” Devon asked, his eyes darting, “yeah just send it through to Whyte.”  
“What’s going on?” Zac frowned as Devon snapped his fingers at Whyte.  
“Something you’re going to want to hear,” Devon assured him.


	44. 44

Zac’s curious frown only deepened when he realised he was watching a recorded video of Seth’s latest interrogation.  
“Is this live?” Isaac had to ask.  
“This is a few minutes ago,” Devon took the headset off so he could concentrate, “audio?”  
“Coming right up,” Whyte pressed a few more buttons before looking up expectantly.  
“That doesn’t worry you?” the interviewer – presumably Carter – was asking, “you don’t wonder about what’s going on outside?”  
“Why should I?” Seth returned, the very sound of his voice making both Zac and Isaac shiver, “if I have no influence over anything from in here?”  
“Still, you must wonder about how your brother is getting on. Especially considering the injuries he sustained a week or so ago,” Carter stepped to the side a little.  
Seth visibly rolled his eyes at that.  
“You are aware, aren’t you, that Taylor Hanson and Nathan Devereux appear to be attacking your bases?”  
They saw Seth freeze, a curious look suddenly on his face.  
“Is that so?” was his simple answer, “and what do you mean by ‘attacking’, exactly?”  
“There have been many casualties,” Carter went on, “I believe at least three of your centres dedicated to the cause of human trafficking have gone up in flames just in the past few days alone.”  
Seth paused with a thoughtful look on his face, and Zac felt a sudden chill creep down his spine before the man spoke again.  
“I would like to speak to Isaac Hanson,” he announced.  
Zac’s eyes shot to his brother, still sitting behind him. Isaac looked like he was yet to process what he’d just heard.  
“Excuse me?” Carter feigned mishearing, “what did you say?”  
“I said…” Seth drawled, “I would like to speak to Isaac Hanson. The eldest. I do believe you would have him somewhere here, am I right?”  
“Seth you need to give us something or you will get nothing,” Carter seemed to be reprimanding him in a tone used a thousand times before, “you can’t just ask for-“  
“I will give him the location of a base that they are yet to ‘attack’,” Seth cut him off, “if you let me speak with Isaac. And don’t get me wrong, this is a onetime offer. Decide.”  
Devon’s eyes lowered as Whyte paused the feed.  
“Why?” was Isaac’s first question, “why me? And why would he talk to me?”  
“We don’t know,” Devon shook his head with a shrug, “but I can tell you straight off that the higher ups aren’t keen on the idea.”  
“Wait…” Zac caught on, “if he’s going to give us a base that Tay’s yet to hit, we could find him. You could be there waiting.”  
“Connor could even be there too,” Whyte suggested, “we could reel them all in at once.”  
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Devon insisted.  
“At the very least we could try the EMP on Tay,” Zac insisted.  
“Nothing can be organised until tomorrow at the very earliest, don’t forget the red tape,” Devon pointed out, “Isaac? What are your thoughts?”  
Isaac stared at the frozen frame of Seth on the screen, taking his time to answer.  
“If it gets Tay back,” he shrugged slightly, “then I’ll do it.”


	45. 45

Taylor adjusted the sunglasses on his face before taking another bite of his bacon and egg muffin. Nate sat across from him with his own, throwing him an odd look every now and then. Taylor was getting used to them and so chose to ignore it.  
“Are you okay?” Nate asked after a long moment of silence.  
“I’m fine,” Taylor insisted, having to wait until he’d finished his mouthful, “why?”  
Nate took a glance over his shoulder before leaning in slightly.  
“You took a pretty hard beating yesterday.”  
Taylor had to smirk at that.  
“Since when do you care about me getting a few bruises?” he had to ask before his next bite.  
“Not just physical ones,” Taylor found Nate’s concern almost comical and had to stop himself snorting as he ate.  
He took his time finishing his latest mouthful before replying.  
“Nate, I’m fine,” he insisted, “it’s not exactly the first time I’ve done it.”  
“It’s the first time you’ve done it hand to hand,” Nate corrected, “and from my angle it was kind of brutal. I mean I remember the first time I stabbed someone-“  
“Nate, _I’m fine_ ,” Taylor repeated insistently, “in fact, I’m better than fine. I’m great. I don’t regret anything, and I’m actually starting to feel kinda good about what we’re doing.”  
Nate’s eyes just narrowed making Taylor roll his.  
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” he sighed, taking a napkin and wiping his hands off, “what do you want me to say, that I finally feel in control for the first in a long time? Because it’s true. And maybe I even get the allure of the job now.”  
“The job?” Nate frowned.  
“Controlling people,” Taylor confirmed, “I get it. I get the rush, and the feeling of power that comes along with it. The power of having someone’s life in your hands.”  
He paused to wipe his mouth as someone walked past their table.  
“Just like Krüger drilled into me, it’s all about control,” his eyes met Nate’s again, “and maybe I’m finally getting a sense of that from the other side. Really you should be glad that I’m finally starting to understand you, because I never have before.”  
Nate frowned as Taylor carried on with his breakfast.   
“I’m not power-hungry,” he felt the need to correct.  
“Maybe not, but you get off on it,” Taylor said straight out, “you can’t deny that. Maybe since your training it’s been seeded so far in that you don’t even know it’s there, but it’s there. And it shows.”  
Nate diverted his eyes before reaching for his wallet and pulling out some cash to cover their meal.  
“We need to go,” he decided, standing up and throwing it onto the table.  
Taylor sat back, but recognised his tone of voice. Without even really thinking about it he quickly finished up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair.  
“Where are we headed?” he asked as he began following him away, “Con’s other base?”  
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea just yet,” Nate insisted as they walked out of the small Eau Claire café.   
“Why not?”  
“Because Connor could be there, especially if the army did find where he was holding you,” Nate paused to open the car door, “and that’s something we’re not ready for.”  
Taylor just shrugged and got into the passenger side without a further word.


	46. 46

Isaac was pacing in the surveillance room when Devon appeared the following morning.  
“And there he is,” Haddon mused from the computer.  
“I heard they found both cars,” Devon didn’t bother with pleasantries, opting to get straight down to business instead.  
“Yep,” Haddon confirmed, tapping the keyboard and bringing up photos of both the red and blue cars Nate and Taylor had been using, “both dumped along highways not far from the bases they’d hit.”  
“Any reports on stolen cars in Wisconsin?”  
“Too many to name,” Haddon adjusted the screen to show a list of all the cars stolen along the possible routes Taylor and Nate might have taken.  
Devon sighed frustratedly at the sight.  
“Petty crime has never been more inconvenient,” Isaac mused, stopping his pacing to lean back against one of the desks.  
“What are you doing here so early anyway?” Devon turned to him.  
“Good morning to you too.”  
“Seth kept him awake,” Haddon offered, pretending to focus on the laptop but really watching the two of them.  
“I still haven’t gotten confirmation from Andrews on it,” Devon told him straight.  
“Haddon did,” Isaac reluctantly informed him.  
Devon’s eyes turned to Haddon.  
“Came through about an hour ago,” he confirmed with a nod, “but only with supervision.”  
“Figured I should put it to Zac before saying yes,” Isaac considered.  
“We already know what Zac will say,” Devon shrugged, “might as well book it in right now.”  
“I’d rather wait,” Isaac insisted, “I figure he’ll be here any minute now.”  
“He’s chicken,” Haddon chuckled.  
“I’m not,” Isaac scorned, “I just know Zac, and he’d be pissed if I went ahead-“  
He cut off and turned as he heard someone entering the room behind him.  
“You rang?” Zac had appeared in time to hear his name.  
“Andrews gave permission for Ike to see Seth,” Haddon informed him before anyone else could.  
“Awesome.”  
“Awesome?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Yeah…” Zac looked confused, “we want this, right? We still want to find Tay?”  
“Don’t forget he wasn’t around when you went to visit Nate,” Devon reminded Isaac.  
Isaac nodded, giving Zac a sideways look.  
“Book it in,” he confirmed with Haddon.  
“I already did,” Haddon couldn’t help but grin, “he’ll need an escort to the prison quarters by one o’clock.”  
Isaac sighed as Devon smirked.  
“Cool,” Zac nodded, “hopefully we can catch up with Tay before Connor does.”  
“If Seth doesn’t dodge too much,” Isaac’s eyes were on the screen, “Nate barely gave me anything.”  
“It’s the first time he’s put anything on the table since we’ve had him in custody, whereas Connor never even offered,” Devon pointed out, “we just have to hope he keeps his word.”  
“And doesn’t send us on a wild goose chase,” Zac added.


	47. 47

Isaac took a deep breath before stepping into the room. He managed to stay a lot calmer than he’d thought he would when he finally laid eyes on Seth. He was restrained with silver cuffs to the table in a similar way to what Nate had been the year before.  
With a glance at Carter who shadowed him, Isaac stepped over and took up one of the opposite seats. Carter took the other.  
“So he’s here,” Carter began, “why did you ask for him?”  
Seth’s eyes narrowed at Carter before he turned them on Isaac.  
“I hear your brother has been keeping himself busy,” he began himself.  
“I hear yours is down for the count,” Isaac hit back.  
“Now now…” Seth’s eyebrows rose, “let’s not make this a competition.”  
“Why did you ask for me?” Isaac repeated Carter’s question.  
“Because in my experience, Zac can be a little… hot headed,” Seth reasoned.  
Isaac couldn’t help but smirk, knowing that in any other situation it’d be him they’d point the finger at.  
“So you chose me over Zac,” Isaac confirmed, “that doesn’t tell us why you’d want to talk to either of us.”  
Seth sat in silence for a moment before leaning forward slightly.  
“Suddenly, Isaac, you and I appear to have the same goal,” he mused.  
“And what’s that?” Isaac asked, though he was sure he knew already.  
“We both want your brother in custody,” Seth confirmed, “surely you’ve worked out they’d be doing us both a favour if they brought Taylor in.”  
“Why would you want Taylor back here?” Isaac shook his head, “wouldn’t you want Connor to get him first?”  
“Connor already has the ability to ‘get’ Taylor, and why he hasn’t I’m unaware,” Seth couldn’t keep the scorn from his voice, “military involvement is the next best thing. I want him off the streets.”  
“So give us the information you’ve offered,” Carter stepped in.  
Seth looked across at him before returning his eyes to Isaac.  
“There’s a town in Mississippi called Oxford…”  
“He’s hit that one already,” Isaac frowned.  
Seth paused again, then shrugged.  
“They haven’t told me where he’s been,” he gave Carter another glance.  
He focused on Isaac again.  
“Texas, then,” he smiled a little, “aside from Waco, Derek had two further Texan residences. I will give you one of them.”  
“I’m ready,” Carter clicked his pen.  
“One of them lies about twenty miles west of Lufkin, in the Davy Crockett National Forrest,” Seth continued without looking at him, “you won’t find it via satellite but if you take the 103 out to the 7 and turn left after the bend, you’ll find it eventually. Derek was a fan of security.”  
Carter was on his feet as soon as he’d written it down.  
“Isaac, time to go,” he insisted.  
“Anything else?” Isaac had to ask first.  
“What more do you want?” Seth frowned.  
Isaac took that as his queue. He quickly stood from the chair and followed Carter from the room.


	48. 48

“So you’re being really cagey about where we’re headed…” Taylor brought up as Nate returned to the car with their takeaway lunch, “but considering we’re about to hit Oklahoma and I’m guessing we’re not going through Tulsa…”  
“Unless you want to run into Connor, the only other option is Texas,” Nate insisted, closing the car door and handing Taylor a bag, “eat your lunch.”  
“I said I didn’t want to go to Texas,” Taylor frowned.  
“And I said it’s the only option left,” Nate returned, “unless you want to half-ass it.”  
“I don’t,” Taylor opened the bag to retrieve his burger, “but that feeling hasn’t gone away.”  
“We’re not taking a chance on facing off with Connor and possibly getting ourselves killed just because you have a _feeling_ ,” Nate scorned as he started the car.  
“Hey, I had the same feeling all day at the studio before you came for me and Ike,” Taylor insisted, “and the same feeling all the way to Paris. You think those times it was unfounded?”  
“I don’t see why you’d have anything to worry about,” Nate tried to assure as he pulled the car out onto the street, “Krüger’s not even there, and his replacements are nothing to sing about. Once we hit these two we’ll have had just enough practise up our sleeves to _maybe_ go after Connor.”  
“Maybe?” Taylor frowned as he unwrapped his lunch, “what else are we even doing this for?”  
“Just eat,” Nate insisted, “we’ll talk about this later.”  
“When?” Taylor demanded, “if you’re taking us to Texas we have all the time in the world right now.”  
“Eat.”  
Taylor recognised the tone as an order and sighed inwardly before doing as told. He kept his eyes on the GPS as they headed south toward the Missouri-Oklahoma border. The showdown that had taken place there with Bernard almost felt like two lifetimes ago and sometimes he found himself forgetting it had even happened.  
The three large scars on the back of his leg used to be the reminder. Now he had so many to add that they tended to get lost in the fray.  
He was about halfway through his burger when he felt a dizzy spell coming on and paused. Nate didn’t notice at first, but soon glanced across when he realised Taylor hadn’t moved for a while.  
“What?” he frowned.  
“I don’t know…” Taylor turned his head slightly before starting to wrap the burger up again.  
“You need to eat the rest of that,” Nate insisted.  
“I’m not feeling well,” Taylor replied softly, putting a hand to his head as he kept his eyes down.  
The trees flying past were only making it worse.  
“What, suddenly?” Nate’s frown only deepened, “what did you do?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shook his head.  
“Keep eating, it might help,” Nate leant forward slightly to turn the heat on in the car.  
Taylor watched as he did so, before relenting and having another go at the burger. The more he ate, the worse he began to feel.  
“Maybe it’s this,” he packed it away for good this time, “it tastes kinda off.”  
“You want something else?” Nate checked his mirrors as Taylor felt his eyes start to droop.  
“No,” Taylor assured, “I think I just need sleep. Wake me up if anything happens.”  
Nate kept an eye on him as he adjusted the car seat so that he could curl up. He’d passed out in next to no time.


	49. 49

“Taylor? Wake up.”  
Taylor strained to get his eyes open, finding it a lot harder than usual. He was already able to tell that he was no longer in the car, and instead laying on a hard mattress.  
“Where are we?” he managed to groan as he tried to sit up.  
“Stay down,” came Nate’s voice.  
Taylor looked over to see him knelt beside the bed. They appeared to be in another motel room.  
It wasn’t long before he registered the cuffs back on his wrists.  
“What’s going on?” Taylor struggled to clear his vision and couldn’t bring his hands down to his eyes for some reason.  
“We need to talk,” Nate insisted.  
“This is how you want to talk?”  
“Shut up.”  
Taylor frowned as he caught on to the anger in Nate’s voice. He’d obviously done something to upset him but he was having trouble even remembering what had happened before he’d passed out.  
As he tried to turn over onto his stomach he finally saw why he couldn't pull his hands down. There was a chain attaching the handcuffs to the head of the bed. The fog in his head prevented him from seeing how it was even locked.  
“We seem to have had a shift in… authority. I think we need to clear things up a little.”  
Taylor fell back onto his side, unable to hold himself up let alone fight the pull of the chain.  
“Don’t let your newfound sense of power disrupt what we have here.”  
“What we have?” Taylor frowned, “you were already doing this for me.”  
“I’m doing this for the both of us,” Nate insisted, “not just because you asked me to. And because I gave you my word.”  
Taylor let his eyes close, struggling to keep himself awake and listening. Whatever Nate had drugged him with was working a charm.  
“You’d do best to remember your place,” Nate stood, making Taylor open his eyes again, “and we’re going to Texas. Understand?”  
Taylor gulped slightly, wishing he had the strength to fight.  
“Yes Nate,” he said softly.  
“Say it louder.”  
“Yes Nate,” Taylor managed, but it was hard.  
“Good. Now sleep it off and we’ll hit the road again tonight.”  
Taylor groaned and closed his eyes again as Nate walked away. He’d known he might have been testing his boundaries, but since Nate had been on medication he hadn’t expected a backlash like this one.  
He frowned to himself as the thought crossed his mind that Nate might have missed a day or two.  
Taylor didn’t bother opening his eyes again as Nate returned to the room and could be heard unzipping his duffel. Taylor heard keys hit the bedside table before the bag was done up again and Nate’s footsteps headed into the bathroom.  
When he was sure he was gone Taylor opened his eyes again. Even through the daze he could tell it was the keys to his handcuffs on the table.  
Without the drugs he knew he easily could have reached them.


	50. 50

“I’m going to Lufkin,” Devon announced.  
“You’re leaving?” Zac’s eyebrows rose as Isaac sighed.  
“I’m going to supervise the EMP experiment, if we get to carry it out,” Devon confirmed, “and frankly if Tay shows up I want to be there. I’m not letting him out of my sight again.”  
“It’s appreciated,” Isaac nodded, though he didn’t seem happy about it either.  
“I’ll have a line twenty-four seven with Whyte and Jenkins,” Devon assured, “if anything comes up you’ll hear it as it’s happening.”  
“You’re taking a full team though right?” Zac frowned.  
“Of course,” Devon nodded, “hopefully it’ll be another Wausau. And hopefully we’re not too late already.”  
“Seth hinted that there were two other places in Texas,” Isaac looked between them, “so even if you do miss him, he’ll be going after the other one. They could be close by.”  
“Lufkin and Waco aren’t exactly neighbours,” Zac pointed out.  
“No… but put it in a triangle with Kyle and you can see the connection,” a thoughtful look crossed Devon’s face.  
“You think there might be a pattern?” Isaac asked, “a way to find the other base?”  
“Houston’s the fourth corner,” Devon reasoned, “I don’t see them going inner city. But it could be a hunting ground, you never know.”  
“Hunting ground?” Zac smirked, “isn’t that the entire country?”  
“Whenever an opportunity strikes unfortunately,” Devon agreed, “but I’m gonna have to love and leave you guys because the team wants to head out within the hour and I need to debrief Andrews before I go.”  
“Does he know I spoke to Seth?” Isaac looked worried.  
“He would, he authorised it,” Devon confirmed, “but I’ll show him the video if I have time. I’ll need to show snippets for him to authorise the mission.”  
“What do we do in the meantime? Just wait?” Zac shrugged.  
“Just wait,” Devon confirmed, “and if Tay calls get whoever’s working to link me in. If I can convince Andrews to send part of the tech crew with us to work on the EMP gun then they should be able to triangulate a location faster. If we can find him before he hits the base, all the better.”  
“Sounds good,” Isaac nodded, “good luck.”  
Devon nodded before taking off down the hall. The brothers locked eyes.  
“EMP _gun_?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“How else did you think they were going to do it?” Isaac mused.  
“I know, it just sounded weird for him to say it out loud.”  
Isaac grabbed for the door handle behind him and Zac stepped back.  
“I think I’m gonna go spend some time with the kids,” he considered, “unless Tay calls… or Fowler… we’re not gonna hear anything else until Devon’s team hits the ground in Lufkin.”  
“True,” Isaac paused with his hand on the door, “and that actually sounds like a good idea. I’ll let Jenkins know we’ll be MIA and I might go spend some time with Nat.”  
Zac paused, before giving him an odd look.  
“I know, it’s weird,” Isaac relented, “but she needs the support more than anyone right now.”  
“You’re not gonna tell her anything though, right?” Zac had to check.  
“Of course not,” Isaac assured, “Tay asked us not to. Remember?”


	51. 51

The next time Taylor opened his eyes, his head was a lot more clear. He could still feel the cuffs on his wrists and the chain holding them fastened to the bed.  
He could hear the shower going and knew that was where Nate was.  
After making sure he was awake and able to move without feeling dizzy, he rolled himself over onto his stomach and pushed himself up with his elbows.  
The keys were still on the bedside table.  
With a glance toward the bathroom he pushed himself up with a grimace so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed before pulling himself up to the head and leaning forward over the table. He was able to reach the keys with his teeth and bring them back over to his hands.  
The moment they fell into his grip he heard the shower turning off.  
Trying to be both quick and quiet, he managed to get the handcuffs unlocked and unhook them from the chain. A quick check of his back pocket proved that he still had the switchblade and he pulled it out just as the bathroom door opened.  
Nate being unaware made it easy for Taylor to grab the arm he was using to dry his hair and force him back against the open door, the bloodied switchblade at his throat before either of them could blink.  
“Taylor-“  
“Shut up,” Taylor sneered, forcing Nate to keep his chin raised, “and listen.”  
Nate grimaced, but took a deep breath and waited.  
“If you _ever_ pull something like that again I swear to you, the next time you and I face off with Connor I will be the _only_ one walking away. Do you understand?” the warning in Taylor’s voice was obvious.  
Nate’s eyes locked on his, but he didn’t respond.  
“Do you understand?” Taylor’s voice lowered as the blade began to split skin.  
“Yes,” Nate’s upper lip twitched.  
“You need to cut the bullshit. How many times do I have to tell you that you _cannot_ restrain me? That includes drugs,” Taylor didn’t move, “you need to get it through your head that you _do not own me_.”  
“Taylor…” Nate gasped out before clearing his throat a little, “drop the knife.”  
Taylor stepped back and dropped the knife to the floor. It took him a moment to realise what he’d done, and by the time he had Nate had stooped to retrieve it.  
“I may not own you…” he sighed as he looked the blade over, “but even you have to admit. I still control you.”  
“Nate you’re off your meds,” Taylor tried to keep a hold of his anger as he felt the situation sliding into Nate’s favour, “if this has any chance of working you need to stay on them. _Please_.”  
“Maybe I’m not the one that needs them?” Nate raised a brow, giving Taylor a considering look.  
“What?” Taylor frowned as Nate stepped aside.  
Nate took the knife back to his duffel before gathering the cuffs and chain and closing the bag.  
“I’m sorry,” Taylor tried, knowing submission would be the only way to deal with him for now, “and I will go with you to Texas. Tonight if you want to. But I just needed you to know that…”  
“You had a ‘bad feeling’?” Nate scorned, throwing the duffel over his shoulder.  
“Please don’t make this a thing,” Taylor almost begged, “we were just getting on track.”  
The scornful look didn’t leave Nate’s face as he took the bag out to the car.


	52. 52

It was daylight before Nate awoke from his sleep in the car. Taylor had welcomed the break while he was out, focusing on following the GPS and getting them down to south east Texas.  
When Nate opened his eyes and realised they were still on the move, he groaned.  
“Where are we?” he asked.  
“Almost at Jasper,” Taylor replied, checking his mirrors, “where should I go?”  
“Stop in Kirbyville, we’ll find a motel there,” Nate shifted his seat to sit himself up.  
“I thought we were headed for Silsbee?” Taylor frowned.  
“Evadale, actually,” Nate corrected, “which is before Silsbee. It’s on the same highway as Kirby.”  
“Okay,” Taylor nodded, unsure of what mood Nate was in as yet.  
They drove through Jasper in silence, Taylor replacing his sunglasses as the sun took over the sky. When they got onto the highway down to Kirbyville, Taylor gave Nate a glance.  
“Are you okay?” he repeated the question Nate had asked so many times of late.  
When Nate looked across curiously Taylor couldn’t help but gulp a little.  
“I mean after yesterday,” he kept his eyes on the road.  
“I’m fine,” Nate scorned.  
“Then can you take your meds, please?” Taylor asked carefully.  
Nate stared across at him, and Taylor silently prayed that he wouldn’t try anything while he was driving. He flinched a little as Nate turned into the back and opened his duffel, rummaging through for the small bottle before bringing it back into the front.  
He opened it and took out a pill – pointedly showing Taylor – before putting it in his mouth and swallowing.  
“Thank you,” Taylor nodded as Nate returned the bottle to his bag.  
Nate sighed and sat back again, tempted to return to sleep.  
They made it to Kirbyville within a half hour and Taylor soon came across a motel. He let Nate out to go and secure a room, before following him down the walkway to their chosen door and parking the car. As he began unloading the car he saw Nate fitting Ryan’s gun into his belt and froze.  
“I’m going for a walk,” Nate informed him as he closed the car door behind him, “stay here, and stay out of sight. I’ll bring back lunch.”  
He waited for Taylor’s nod before he began down the street. Taylor took a quick look around to make sure no one had seen him with the gun before quickly getting everything else back inside and closing the door after him. Just in case, he added the chain across the door.  
In order to not dwell on it and drive himself crazy he opted to turn on the television. He soon found a news channel and sat himself up on one of the beds to catch up.  
It took over an hour for Nate to return and he had to pull the chain from the door to let him in. Nate came in with two separate bags, one of which he handed to Taylor on the way in.  
“Lunch,” he informed him as he closed the door.  
Taylor eyed it before taking it to the table.  
“No additives,” Nate assured, taking off his jacket and throwing it onto his bed beside the other bag.  
“Really,” Taylor couldn’t help himself.  
“Didn’t take the drugs with me, they’re all in there,” Nate indicated the duffel.  
Taylor nodded as he took a seat and emptied the bag’s contents onto the table. Before Nate joined him, he pulled a small black box from the other bag.  
“I also got you something,” he revealed, placing the box on the table in front of him.


	53. 53

Taylor looked up curiously, not touching the box.  
“What for?” he frowned.  
“For yesterday,” Nate remained standing next to it, “my way of apology. I saw this and thought of you.”  
Taylor eyed the box warily, his hands frozen on his lunch.  
“Take it,” Nate insisted.  
Not losing the look, Taylor’s eyes darted between the two for a moment before he reached over for the box. He didn’t recognise the embroidered logo, but it almost looked like a large jewellery box.  
“Open it.”  
Taylor threw another glance his way before pulling off the lid. When he saw the necklace inside all he could do was blink.  
“Do you like it?” Nate asked hopefully.  
Taylor paused, not wanting to touch it.  
“I guess…” he just looked confused, “it’s nice, yeah.”  
Nate smiled a little, making Taylor wonder if his medication had any effect on him yet. Nate leant forward to pull the necklace from the box, the links in the silver chain snaking gently over his fingers.  
Taylor set the box on the table as he stared at it.  
“Do you forgive me for yesterday?” Nate asked softly.  
“Of course I forgive you,” Taylor frowned a little, his sincerity in stark contrast to when those three words were uttered at the cabin.  
“Would you wear it as a sign of forgiveness?” Nate asked as he unhooked the clasp.  
Taylor took a moment to bite his lip, but nodded.  
“Sure,” he agreed.  
Nate smiled again before stepping around behind his chair. Taylor’s eyes darted nervously as the chain lowered across his eyes, falling to his throat as Nate locked the clasp together. Once it was on he lifted his hands to feel the weight of it.  
The chain sat at the base of his throat where most of his old necklaces used to sit. Before he’d first been collared and felt the need to wear them looser.   
In some weird and unexpected way, it almost felt as if Nate was trying to help him find his old self again. Taylor couldn’t hold back the smirk that accompanied the thought.  
“What?” Nate appeared at his side again.  
“Nothing,” Taylor looked up innocently, “but your lunch is gonna get cold.”  
Nate nodded before collecting the box and taking it to the bin. Taylor inspected the necklace further before Nate finally took up the opposite chair and reached for his share.  
“So when do we leave?” Taylor asked, “you want to wait for the cover of darkness again?”  
“I’d prefer that, yes,” Nate nodded as he unwrapped his burger, “we shouldn’t have any problems. This particular base I know like the back of my hand.”  
“Were you trained there?” Taylor asked curiously.  
“No,” Nate kept his eyes down, “but it’s where I started recruiting.”  
Taylor paused, then nodded.  
“Okay,” he sighed, “tonight then.”  
“Tonight,” Nate agreed, “you should get some sleep before then.”  
“I will,” Taylor promised, already feeling better about the situation.


	54. 54

“Any word from Devon?” Isaac asked as he entered the room.  
“Everything’s cool,” Whyte replied, “nothing to report as yet.”  
“The base is still operational,” Zac looked over his shoulder, “they haven’t hit it yet.”  
“Great,” Isaac nodded as he closed the door behind him, “which means it’s still on the list.”  
“We hope,” Whyte offered with an amused glint in his eye.  
“He’ll go after anything he can,” Zac insisted, “it’s on his list. I’ll bet on it.”  
“Heard anything from Fowler?”  
“No,” Zac shook his head, “I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or a bad thing yet. I wish I knew what he was planning.”  
“Same could be said for a few people,” Isaac indicated the screen with his freshly loaded coffee mug, “so what’s the go with Devon? What exactly are they doing?”  
“They have the perimeter of the base surrounded,” Whyte explained, “but subtly. They don’t want the people inside to know what’s going on. It’ll be a beacon to Devereux to stay away.”  
“Agreed,” Isaac nodded.  
“As soon as they spot any intrusion through their set boundary they’re going to make a move.”  
“Let’s hope they see them coming,” Zac looked unsure.  
“I’m sure they will,” Whyte offered, “they have the place pretty well locked down. There’s only one road in and out. It’s a similar setup to Oxford.”  
“It wasn’t long between the first two, or three,” Isaac looked to him, “are they expecting a hit tonight?”  
“Considering how far they’d have to go from Minnesota to southern Texas?” Whyte considered, “they’re not cancelling anything out, but if I had to bet on it I’d say they won’t show until at least tomorrow. That’s if it’s next on the list. Once again we don’t really know how many bases are out there. There could just be four, there could be over a dozen. Depending on what Nate knows? They could hit any one of them anywhere in the country.”  
“Or out of the country,” Zac realised, “there could be some in Canada or Mexico… I don’t think I need to mention Paris.”  
“Do you think Tay would cross borders?” Isaac asked.  
“I don’t know what Tay’s thinking,” Zac shook his head, “but if I were him, and I were dead set on ending this? I can tell you I’d go anywhere I had to.”  
He sighed.  
“And do anything I had to.”  
“You two are a lot more alike than you think,” Isaac pointed to his brother.  
“Hey I might _want_ to go after their asses but at least I’m not acting on those urges,” Zac defended, “Tay’s gone freaking nuts.”  
“You also didn’t have Nate breathing down your neck,” Isaac reasoned.  
“No,” Zac agreed, “and one time for that was enough. I still have nightmares about that trailer.”  
“Really?” Isaac looked surprised, “after everything you’ve been through with Krüger? The hole?”  
“Nate was different,” Zac frowned, “he was psychotic. Unpredictable. Krüger at least was predictable. And the hole – for what it was – was actually _really_ boring.”  
“Krüger was a trainer, not a trainee,” Isaac offered.  
“And it showed,” Zac nodded.  
“Don’t worry boys,” Whyte tried to reassure them both, “we’ll find them. Sooner or later.”


	55. 55

“I know you don’t want to hear it,” Taylor clicked his gun off safety, “but I still have a really bad feeling about this.”  
“Enough,” Nate scorned, “let’s get this done and move on.”  
Taylor winced as they approached the dark building. It was certainly the smallest base Taylor had ever been to, discounting the apartments in Tupelo. In a way it looked similar to Krüger’s house in Kyle, but it was only a single storey.  
There were no armoured gates, just an unlit gravel driveway.  
“Wouldn’t be hard to know this place like the back of your hand,” Taylor said softly, “it’s not exactly big.”  
“It’s bigger underground,” Nate revealed.  
Taylor gave him a wary glance.  
“How many guards are you expecting?”  
“Usually four on staff, possibly a trainer and the head honcho. We’ll go for six.”  
“Head honcho? You don’t know who it is?” Taylor looked surprised.  
“Last I knew it was run by Krüger,” Nate shrugged, “and it’s not run by him now.”  
“Not unless he’s doing it from the grave,” Taylor looked up as they drew closer, “why don’t they have anyone watching the grounds?”  
“It’s concealed enough that they don’t feel the need.”  
“Even though they know we’re coming?”  
The two of them froze and immediately raised their guns as the front door suddenly opened, Nate’s gold reflecting the moonlight that covered them.  
“Nathan?” came a voice from the dark doorway, “come on inside. And bring your friend too.”  
“Caruso?” Nate frowned, lowering his gun slightly.  
There was no response, and Taylor had to squint to see that the person had backed away from the door.  
He gave Nate a wary glance, but Nate simply lowered his weapon and headed on up to the door. A light flickered on inside as Nate made it there and beckoned for Taylor to follow him.  
When Taylor made it to the door he had to blanch when he saw the inside of the building. Aside from the lack of staircase the foyer was a mirror image of Krüger’s house in Kyle.  
“Where is everyone?” Nate asked, gun still in hand but not aimed.  
Caruso spread his hands with a shrug.  
“They’re not here,” his accent became obvious, “it’s just me and Debbie.”  
“Debbie?” Nate frowned, shooting Taylor a glance as he stopped by the door, “you’re cleaning up?”  
“Creed ordered the closure two days ago,” Caruso explained, leaning back against a counter which sat where the staircase should have been, “he appears to be dissolving part of the business.”  
“No… it’ll only be temporary,” Nate assured, “he just wants us to stop what we’re doing. He thinks if he kills all the subs then Taylor won’t have a reason to come after them.”  
“But it’s not them I’m after,” Taylor frowned, gaining a look from Caruso as he spoke.  
“Then Connor is mistaken,” Caruso decided.  
“Are they all dead?” Nate asked.  
“It was done yesterday,” Caruso nodded, “the bodies incinerated this morning. All operatives evacuated to Pennsylvania.”  
“They went back to Connor,” Nate looked to Taylor.


	56. 56

“Connor said he’d taken ‘measures’,” Taylor looked between them, “maybe this is what he meant.”  
“What about Lufkin?” Nate asked.  
“Still in the process, I believe,” Caruso nodded thoughtfully, “of course they’re a lot bigger than we are. Or… were.”  
“Lufkin?” Taylor looked to Nate.  
“Krüger’s last base,” Nate offered.  
“So you’re the Taylor everyone’s been talking about?” Caruso gave him a curious look, catching his attention, “I heard along the grapevine that Krüger died because of you.”  
“Don’t answer that,” Nate ordered, making Taylor fall silent.  
Caruso turned his look on Nate.  
“How did you end up with him?” he asked.  
“He was mine to begin with,” Nate’s finger danced over the trigger.  
Taylor noticed, but Caruso didn’t seem to. Either that or he was overly confident.  
The movement caused Taylor to tighten his grip on his own gun.  
“Not what I hear,” Caruso mused, “though I must admit I hear a lot of conflicting stories. Some say he was Seth’s, some say he was Connor’s…”  
He turned his eyes to Taylor again and looked him over.  
“And I heard what he did to Ryan, of course.”  
“Word gets around,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
Caruso just smirked.  
“So what now… you’re going around bases just trying to save people?” Caruso looked to Nate before tsking softly, “you know it doesn’t work that way. You know anyone you save will be found.”  
“This isn’t about saving people,” Taylor suddenly scorned, “I mean, in the long term yes, but not… has no one been paying attention?!”  
“Calm down,” Nate insisted.  
“Then what is your intention?” Caruso looked genuinely interested.  
“The idea is to get to Connor,” Nate answered for him.  
“Connor’s not here,” Caruso frowned.  
“We know that!”  
“Taylor,” Nate had a warning tone now, “stand down.”  
Taylor almost whined as he suddenly had trouble holding himself back. He turned his back on the two of them and put his hands on his head to try and calm down.  
“Then get to Connor how?” Caruso looked to Nate, “you think destroying his bases – the ones he is willingly shutting down – is going to bother him?”  
“It’s not really the bases either,” Nate shrugged.  
“Then what?” Caruso frowned.  
Nate hesitated, then looked to Taylor. He could see that he was visibly struggling.  
“Taylor?” he got his attention before nodding, “go ahead.”  
Taylor pulled the trigger on Caruso, landing three bullets into the man’s chest. Not having time to react, Caruso died with a shocked expression on his face.  
“Dammit,” Taylor cursed, feeling the adrenaline pumping as he tried to bring himself down.  
“Are you done?” Nate’s eyebrows rose expectantly.  
“No,” Taylor admitted, “now where’s Debbie?”


	57. 57

Zac groaned as he reached for the phone sometime after midnight. When he saw the text he’d received he quickly apologised to Kate and got out of bed.  
Within minutes he was back in the room with Haddon.  
“Zac?” he looked up in surprise.  
“Text from Tay,” he managed to get out without his eyes focusing, walking over and placing the phone on the table beside the laptop.  
“Co-ordinates,” Haddon appreciated, “at least he’s making our jobs easy.”  
“In one aspect,” Zac rubbed at his eyes before focusing on the screen.  
Haddon brought up the satellite feed over the area and Zac blanched.  
“They’re in Texas,” he realised.  
“Or were,” Haddon corrected, “it looks like that blaze has been going for some time.”  
He adjusted his headset and put in a call for a team to be deployed to Evadale.  
“Still, they’re close,” Zac said mainly to himself as Haddon spoke online.  
He walked over to the screen, pinpointing how far Evadale was from Lufkin. When Haddon ended his third call he looked over his shoulder.  
“They’re barely two hours’ drive from Devon,” Zac frowned.  
“Yeah,” Haddon agreed with a sigh, “I guess I should warn him about that. We don’t know how far down the road they are after all.”  
“Did you trace the text?”  
Haddon nodded.  
“It came from Kirbyville, or a tower there anyway,” Haddon shrugged.  
“So they’re actually moving toward Lufkin,” Zac realised.  
“Maybe.”  
“You’re killing the mood here, Haddon.”  
“Sorry,” Haddon smirked, “ just don’t see why they’d go for a base in Mississippi, then go all the way up to Minnesota, then come all the way back down to Texas. Unless they’re trying to throw Connor off the trail-“  
“Which would be impossible,” Zac cut in.  
“-Or us, I guess, it doesn’t really make sense.”  
Zac’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he scanned the map.  
“Maybe there was a reason he didn’t want to do Texas before now,” he contemplated, “it’s where most of his training was done.”  
“You think Nate would give him the option?” Haddon’s eyebrows rose.  
“I don’t know,” Zac admitted, “but Tay does have a way of getting to him, that’s for sure.”  
Haddon was about to agree when he received a call through his headset. When he realised who it was he set it going through the speakers.  
“Zac’s here,” he announced, making Zac turn again.  
“So what happened? Where is he?” came Devon’s voice.  
Zac smirked, knowing Devon would have been on it no matter how tired he was from the stakeout.  
“The base was in Evadale,” Haddon replied, “and the text came from Kirbyville. By all accounts it looks as though they’re on their way to you now, so I’d be on the lookout.”  
“Would they hit them one after the other?” Zac frowned in doubt.  
“We’re all on high alert down here,” Devon came back, “there’s something weird going on for sure.”


	58. 58

As Taylor awoke late the following morning, he could hear Nate already packing his things. Confused as to why he’d be doing it in daylight he quickly sat up on the bed.  
“What’s going on?” he frowned, blinking before rubbing his eyes.  
“It’s almost checkout,” was Nate’s reply.  
Taylor took a look around the room, seeing that he was almost ready to go.  
“We’re not waiting until tonight?” he was surprised.  
“Lufkin’s a large base, about the same size as Chadron,” Nate explained, “if you want to see your way around we’re going to have to go in daylight.”  
“Won’t there be more guards?” Taylor already looked worried as he started to get up.  
“No, there’s a set amount,” Nate assured, “for this one I believe fifteen.”  
“ _Fifteen_ guards?” Taylor was suddenly a lot more awake, “how are we-?”  
“There was about the same at Chadron,” Nate cut him off before he could panic, “if Isaac and I could handle it, I’m sure you and I could handle this.”  
Taylor stopped to take a deep breath. He knew Nate was right.  
With Connor’s orders for no one to kill them it should have been a walk in the park.  
“If they haven’t been sent back to Connor yet,” Taylor scratched his head before heading for the bathroom.  
“Pretty sure they haven’t,” Nate muttered under his breath before taking the bag out to the car.  
After taking a quick shower Taylor took his sunglasses from the table and followed Nate out to the car where he was already waiting in the driver’s seat. Knowing that driving wasn’t a good idea for him Taylor knew Nate mustn’t have taken his medication that morning, but he wasn’t willing to press the issue when they were about to take on another base.  
The road to Lufkin was quiet, and Taylor spent most of it in the back seat making sure all their weapons were reloaded and ready to go. When Nate found his way onto the highway that led from Lufkin to Crockett Taylor climbed back over into the front.  
“All set?” Nate asked him.  
“All set,” Taylor confirmed, looking his own gun over, “last base before Connor’s, right?”  
“I’ll try and find out from someone here if Salamanca is still running,” Nate told him, “but I don’t doubt that the army found it. If Salamanca’s out, then yes. There’s only one to go.”  
Taylor tried not to think about having to face off with not only Connor himself, but with the likes of Jack, Kadie and even Jake. He knew that if he had the ability to Connor would certainly try and use them against him.  
“Let’s hope Connor’s still in bad enough shape that he’ll be an easy target,” he said out loud.  
“Regardless he’s going to have a heck of a lot of bodyguards,” Nate shot Taylor a glance, “the extra five from Evadale at the very least.”  
“So…” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “I know you said that Tulsa wasn’t the only corrupt police department, and that there were more in Tupelo…”  
He bit his lip.  
“Do you know how far that spreads as well?”  
Nate gave him another glance before turning his attention to the GPS.  
“One thing at a time,” he insisted, “let’s just focus on these guys first.”  
“I just think if Connor’s the ‘final battle’ we might not get another chance,” Taylor looked worried.  
“You’re not going to die there,” Nate insisted, “not if I can help it. And not if Connor can either.”


	59. 59

Nate pulled the car to a halt and they took up what they needed to walk in like they had in Duluth. Nate carried his usual backpack whereas Taylor opted to keep everything concealed bar the handgun he barely let leave his hands.  
Before the gates even came into sight, Taylor stopped in his tracks. It took Nate a moment to realise before he stopped and turned back to him.  
“What?” he frowned.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor returned the look.  
He paused before looking to the sides, into the surrounding trees.  
“Got that feeling again?” Nate teased, “you know it was pretty unfounded yesterday.”  
“It just amplified by ten,” Taylor shuddered a little before walking forward so that he was closer to Nate, “we need to get this over with and get the hell out of here.”  
“No arguments here,” Nate assured before they both picked up the pace a little.  
They spotted the gates over the next crest and the singular guard soon saw them approaching. He stepped out into the middle of the road and raised his hands.  
“Nate!” they heard him call out, “we knew you were coming! Just come down and-!”  
Taylor flinched as Nate fired two shots into the man’s chest. Neither of them broke stride.  
“Can we get through?” Taylor asked, indicating the gates.  
“They’ll be open,” Nate assured.  
When they came to them Taylor could see that the chains holding the gates together weren’t even locked. With a glance at the body of the guard laying to the side, Nate pushed them open and indicated for Taylor to walk through.  
“Was that one of the fifteen?” Taylor indicated as Nate followed.  
“I doubt it,” Nate shrugged, “but I guess we’ll soon find out.”  
As expected the sound of the gunfire had already drawn attention from inside. Two guards had appeared at the main doors – the building looking a lot like the one Taylor had driven up to.  
“We don’t want any trouble,” Nate raised a hand to feign surrender as two rifles suddenly trained on him, “we already heard Connor’s been shutting these places down.”  
“Then how come no one’s heard from Caruso since last night?” one of them demanded.  
“Because I shot him,” Taylor took a step forward before Nate grabbed his arm to hold him back.  
“Is that so?” one of the guards seemed unimpressed.  
“There’s nothing here for you,” the other insisted, “all the slaves are dead.”  
“Oh I beg to differ,” Taylor insisted, Nate tightening the grip on his arm.  
“Why does everyone think we’re trying to free slaves?” Nate asked curiously.  
The two guards shared an almost nervous glance.  
“It’s what Connor suggested,” one of them answered.  
Nate smirked.  
“Maybe Connor has a few tricks up his sleeve too,” he mused.  
“What do you mean?” the other guard was now thoroughly confused.  
Nate stared at him for a moment, making just enough eye contact to intimidate. Then he suddenly wrenched Taylor’s arm forward.  
“Go,” he ordered.  
Taylor raised his gun and fired. Having their rifles trained on Nate meant neither was ready to fire at Taylor, and one of them went down before the other could react. Nate took out the second instead.


	60. 60

“Wait!” Devon ordered.  
“You’re not in charge here,” the commanding officer’s voice came through his earpiece.  
“Please!” Devon was begging, “we don’t know who’s going to kill who if we barge through those doors!”  
“The sooner we get inside the less bodies we’ll have to recover,” the officer returned, “I’m giving the order. They’re going in now.”  
Devon cursed and rerouted his line.  
“Jenkins you there?!” he called in.  
“We’re here,” came the reply.  
“Eyes on screen, they’re going in,” Devon reported before grabbing a case and jumping from the back of the armoured vehicle he’d been hidden in.  
Once outside he planted the case on the ground and opened it up. Already in the distance he could hear the yells of his comrades as they began moving in on the base.  
Moving as fast as he could he began to piece together the weapon he planned to use on Taylor. The bottom end looked like a regular rifle, whereas the front held what looked like a small satellite dish. After charging the power up have gave his partner a glance – one of the tech specialists that had been sent with him – who gave him a nod to show that he’d done it right.  
Hefting the gun over his shoulder, Devon and his partner began to follow the others on their approach to the base.  
By the time they made it to the gates they could hear the gunfire coming from inside. Devon’s partner directed him up to the front door, where they went through into a sort of lobby area. There were three bodies on the ground, and two soldiers were detaining someone over to the left.  
“Where is he?” Devon wondered out loud before both he and his partner put their hands to their ear pieces.  
They looked to the right where they could see two doorways with corridors. After a pause they both headed for the one closest to them.  
“Do you have a layout?” Devon asked his contact officer.  
“Just make it to the end. And be quick,” came the reply.  
Devon gave his partner a glance before they picked up the pace. Sudden gunfire from behind didn’t deter them, and neither did the grisly sight of bodies a few days old in some of the cells they passed in the walkway.  
They made it to the opposite doorway and Devon paused to look through the small window in the door. When he caught sudden sight of Taylor he had to blanch.  
He laid eyes on him just in time to see Taylor lean over a guard on the ground and cut his throat.  
“What the-?” a look of incredulous crossed Devon’s face, not even noticing Nate before he walked around behind Taylor.  
Devon’s partner caught his hesitation and pushed him aside before throwing the door open. Taylor’s head snapped up in time for the two soldiers to come through.  
“NATE! RUN!” he yelled, turning on his heel.  
Devon finally pulled himself together at the sound of Taylor’s voice and raised the gun.  
“I’m sorry Tay,” he breathed before pulling the trigger.  
Taylor froze in stride as Devon cringed, hearing the electronics in his ear fry on impact. His partner was off and running before he could lower the gun.


	61. 61

“Taylor?!” Nate ran back to him as he doubled over.  
“Run!” Taylor coughed out, confused at the sudden surge of nausea he felt.  
He grabbed onto Nate’s arm as he fell to his knees. Nate’s head shot up as he saw the soldier running toward them.  
“You get away from them as soon as you can,” Nate ordered.  
“Just finish it,” Taylor barely got out, looking into Nate’s eyes desperately, “you _finish it_ for me!”  
Nate nodded, before having to drop him and run. Taylor fell to his hands and knees in a coughing fit as he heard the soldier run past after him.  
Closing his eyes with a sickly groan, he had to spit as he felt someone fall to their knees beside him.  
“Tay? Tay?!”   
He had to look up as he recognised Devon’s voice.  
“Devon?” he frowned, “Devon… help me!”  
“I’m here to help you,” Devon insisted, taking him by the arm to pull him to his feet, “but we need to get out of here. I’m taking you home.”  
“Devon no!” Taylor insisted, trying to fight the pull but feeling like he was going to vomit at any second, “Devon please, it’s almost done! You have to let me go!”  
Devon’s frown deepened as he registered Taylor’s words, but the next thing to happen was Taylor falling to his knees again and vomiting onto the concrete. Devon grimaced as he waited for him to finish, looking up to see his partner returning through a far doorway without Nate.  
“Come on Tay,” Devon pulled him up again once he was done, “we have to go.”  
“No!” Taylor tried again, stumbling as Devon pulled him away, “what did you do to me?!”  
“It’s radiation poisoning,” Devon quickly explained, indicating for his partner to take up Taylor’s other arm.  
“What?!”  
“I’ll explain later. We need to get you to the chopper.”  
With another sickly groan Taylor closed his eyes and let them lead him back down the corridor and to the front doors. As soon as they were outside they were approached by more soldiers.  
“Hanson?” one of them asked.  
“Yes,” Devon answered.  
“Chopper’s just landed. Get him off the ground now!”  
“That’s the plan,” Taylor heard Devon mutter under his breath.  
In no time they were at the helicopter – the blades never stopped rotating – and Taylor found himself squashed between Devon and his partner before it just as soon left the ground. He leant forward and put his head in his hands as he tried to control the overwhelming nausea still running rampant through him, but nothing seemed to make any difference.  
“You’re gonna be okay!” Devon yelled over the sound of the blades, trying to reassure him by rubbing his back.  
Taylor only groaned, unable to form a response.   
“You’ve got Ike and Zac waiting for you, they’ve been worried,” he continued, “we all have.”  
When he didn’t any response to that either, Devon cleared his throat and touched his new ear piece.  
“En route to DC. ETA two and a half hours,” he reported.  
“Copy that,” came the response from Jenkins.


	62. 62

“Taylor’s in custody,” Jenkins confirmed.  
“Yes!” Zac pumped his fist.  
“About time,” Isaac nodded to himself, eyes on the screen where six different helmet cam views continued to play out.  
Devon hadn’t had one, but Jenkins had kept a line open with him and they’d heard snippets of what had gone on. Once they’d gotten into the helicopter the line had cut out.  
“Maybe we’ll finally get some answers,” Zac began to pace.  
“It might take a while,” Jenkins cautioned, “he could be away for a long time first.”  
“What do you mean?” Isaac frowned as Zac froze.  
“I mean your brother’s probably going to spend almost as long in interrogation as Seth has,” Jenkins pointed out, “and then who knows?”  
“Who knows… what?” Zac demanded.  
“Who knows where he’ll end up?” Jenkins shrugged.  
“You’re saying Tay could be going to jail?” Isaac’s frown deepened.  
“I’d say it’s more than a possibility at this stage,” Jenkins’ eyes darted across the laptop, “it sounds like your brother’s been killing a lot of people.”  
Zac ran his fingers through his hair before turning away with his hands on his head.  
“Surely they can prove it’s coerced?” Isaac insisted.  
“They’ll certainly build a case against Nate, that’s for sure,” Jenkins agreed, “whether or not it holds up in court…”  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Zac groaned.  
“Of course finding an interrogator is going to be hard,” Jenkins went on, “they need someone attached to the case who doesn’t necessarily have a soft spot for either Devon or you guys.”  
Isaac smirked.  
“Good luck with that,” he turned his eyes back to the screen.  
“There’s not enough people on this case,” Zac insisted.  
“I feel like the entire Pentagon is on this case sometimes,” Isaac sighed.  
“In comparison to some other cases there’s hardly anyone,” Jenkins reasoned, “but considering the media involvement and how dedicated everyone has become to this…”  
“Which is definitely appreciated,” Isaac insisted.  
“It just feels like a lot more,” Jenkins finished.  
“When’s Tay gonna get here?” Zac asked, evidently worried now.  
“About two hours,” Jenkins replied, changing the screen to a bird’s eye view of the base as opposed to the helmet cameras.  
“And they don’t have Nate?” Zac felt the need to double check.  
“Not yet,” Jenkins confirmed.  
“How long is it going to take?”  
“If they get him at all,” Zac muttered, “like Devon said, he’s good at avoiding the army.”  
Isaac gave him a derogatory glance.  
“Time will tell either way,” Jenkins shrugged, “they should have the base cleared within the hour.”  
“I just thought of someone who’d be perfect for the interrogation,” Zac realised.  
“Someone who doesn’t have a soft spot for us but knows the case?” Isaac thought, before realising.  
“Dekker,” they both said in unison.


	63. 63

Taylor looked up as the door to the room opened. It had to have been over an hour since the helicopter had landed, and he’d been pulled away from Devon almost immediately.  
He’d been given some time to recover from the poisoning before being brought here, though he still wasn’t feeling all that well.  
“Afternoon,” Dekker greeted, closing the door behind him and walking over to the table.  
He placed a manila folder down in front of his chair, but didn’t take a seat.  
“Is this really necessary?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, spreading his hands a little to indicate the handcuffs keeping him locked to the table.  
“You tell me,” Dekker finally took his seat, “you have been killing a lot of people.”  
Taylor smirked and turned his eyes away.  
“I lay personal claim to six, if that helps,” he had the decency to look sheepish.  
“You’re admitting to six murders?”  
“I wouldn’t call it that,” Taylor considered.  
“And yet… you don’t seem at all phased by it?” Dekker looked curious.  
“What, you want me to have a pity party for the guys who did this to me?” Taylor frowned, “I’m sorry, but that’s not gonna happen.”  
“Try remorse, then,” Dekker suggested.  
Taylor fell silent, before letting his eyes fall to the folder. He didn’t feel it and he wasn’t about to lie and say that he did.  
Dekker sighed and crossed a leg over his knee, obviously getting comfortable for what might be a long afternoon.  
“What’s that on your neck?” he asked curiously, “I don’t believe I’ve seen it before.”  
Taylor went to automatically touch the necklace with his right hand, pausing halfway in his movement when he realised he wouldn’t be able to reach it without hunching over.  
“It was a gift,” he said almost sullenly, “from Nate.”  
“Nathan Devereux?” Dekker had to confirm.  
“Is he okay?” Taylor looked up at him, worry in his eyes.  
“I thought you didn’t want a pity party?”  
Taylor’s eyes lowered again.  
“Nate’s different,” he admitted, brow furrowing as he registered the words when they were said aloud.  
“So tell me how,” Dekker insisted, “how is he different than say… Connor?”  
Taylor’s eyes immediately darkened at the mention of the name.  
“And tell me why he would help you carry on this little crusade against him? Unless of course you’re helping him instead. In which case I’d like to know why you made it so hard for us to find you along the way…”  
“Connor needs to pay,” Taylor’s eyes met Dekker’s.  
“Is that you talking, or is that Nate?” Dekker met him with just as much force.  
“It’s me,” Taylor insisted, “if you let me go, I swear I will finish it and it will all be over. But I can’t let Connor go.”  
“Why so much hate for Connor in particular?” Dekker’s eyes narrowed.  
Taylor shot to his feet, pulling up the front of his shirt with his cuffed hands.  
“Have someone carve their name into your flesh and see if you hold any resentment,” he challenged.


	64. 64

“This is not good,” Devon stated the obvious from the other side of the mirror.  
“What do we tell Ike and Zac?” Haddon looked across at him, having shown up when Jenkins had given him the news Taylor was back.  
“Nothing yet,” Devon insisted, not taking his eyes away from his charge.  
“Nothing?” Haddon’s eyebrows rose, “they’re going to want to know! We can’t just tell them ‘nothing’!”  
“Pull yourself together,” Devon scorned, “they knew as well as we did that this wasn’t going to be easy. Nate just got his claws in further than we thought he would.”  
“That’s an understatement,” Haddon looked back at Taylor.

*

“Why did you send Zac the texts?” Dekker asked.  
“Proof,” Taylor offered, “I knew Connor would try and cover up the explosions. Make it seem like nothing out of the ordinary.”  
“Explosions themselves are usually considered out of the ordinary,” Dekker seemed to press.  
“You know what I mean,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “he would have made sure they couldn’t be traced back to him. If the media got a hold of them I needed people to know the truth.”  
“Why?” Dekker prodded, “why would you want to cause public panic?”  
“I don’t,” Taylor frowned, “but I want people to be aware of what’s going on. So they can stop it from happening again.”  
“So you’ve said before…” Dekker reached over for the file, pulling it into his lap and opening it.  
“Why would I change my mind?” Taylor frowned.  
“You seem to have changed your mind on a few other things,” Dekker said absently, “mortality, for example. I hear Devon walked in on you slitting a man’s throat.”  
“You don’t think that was in self-defence?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“Was it?” Dekker asked, “or was he just another pawn you wanted to pick off in your quest to get to the king?”  
“What?”  
Dekker took a photo from the file and threw it onto the table. Taylor caught the edge of it.  
“What about Jones? Was he just another pawn?”  
Taylor gulped slightly at the autopsy photo of the soldier who’d been supervising his and Nate’s return to the Pentagon. Red lines were clear across his throat where he’d been strangled and his head sat at an unnatural angle.  
“Did you kill Private Jones, Taylor? Was he one of your six?”  
“No I didn’t,” Taylor insisted without looking up.  
“But you helped, didn’t you?” Dekker pressed, “you helped Nate kill him.”  
“I didn’t know,” Taylor insisted, “I didn’t know he’d kill him.”  
Dekker nodded consideringly.  
“But you could have stopped it.”  
“I couldn’t,” Taylor frowned, seeming to be fighting an internal battle.  
“You could,” Dekker corrected, “but you didn’t. You had more loyalty to Nate’s word than you did to preserving the life of an innocent American soldier.”  
Taylor leant forward in order to rub his face.  
“Maybe I did,” he finally relented when he pulled his hands away, “but that’s how they planned it.”


	65. 65

“Who?” Dekker set the file aside, “and what did they plan?”  
Taylor took a moment to think over what he’d said, and he couldn’t help but smirk.  
“They planned me,” he looked up and made eye contact, “I know you have Seth here. Why don’t you go and ask him what I mean by that?”  
“I’m tasked with talking to you,” Dekker returned, “Seth isn’t my jurisdiction. Why don’t you tell me what Seth would say?”  
Taylor stared at the table, tilting his head slightly as if recalling something. After a tense moment of silence he finally spoke.  
“Seth once told me that he wanted me to become a legend,” he revealed, “he wanted people to know that if they saw me, they’d never be seen again.”  
His eyes rose to Dekker.  
“Maybe I’m becoming that legend. Just not in the way he expected.”  
“So you’re saying Seth wanted you to start killing people?” Dekker tried to clarify.  
“He wanted me to recruit slaves,” Taylor considered, “in my mind that’s the same thing.”  
He looked towards the door as Dekker shifted in his seat.  
“Are my brothers here?” he asked.  
“Seth has been in custody for almost two weeks now,” Dekker ignored the question, “does your new homicidal streak extend to him too?”  
“Homicidal streak?” Taylor looked confused.  
“You obviously want to kill Connor, just like you did his elder brother,” Dekker mused, “why not Seth too?”  
Taylor paused again, before leaning forward determinedly.  
“Why don’t you get on with asking me what they want you to ask me,” his voice lowered, “and maybe we can both go home?”  
“I doubt either one of us will be going home,” Dekker sighed, “I don’t suppose you’d want to tell me where Devereux has gone?”  
Taylor couldn’t stop the glint in his eyes at the realisation that he’d gotten away.  
“I might if I could,” he reasoned, “but I don’t know where he’s gone.”  
“Reports say your last words to him were to ‘finish it’. We can only assume that means you wanted him to go after Connor.”  
Taylor shrugged.  
“So we must also assume that you know where he’s going, if you don’t know where he is now.”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor answered with utmost honesty, “Nate never told me where the bases were. Not until we were almost on them. He thought that if he gave away the locations then I’d go after them myself.”  
“Would you have?”  
Taylor diverted his eyes, looking toward the mirror absently.  
“I don’t know,” his eyes narrowed consideringly, “I don’t think I could have taken them on solo.”  
“So you needed Nate there with you?”  
“I guess…” Taylor suddenly frowned, “can I get a drink of water?”  
Dekker looked to the mirror and nodded, making Taylor look warily toward it. He had no idea who might have been on the other side, but he guessed it wasn’t either Isaac or Zac.  
“We’ll need to get a photographer in here to shoot that wound of Connor’s,” Dekker sighed again.


	66. 66

“What’s happening?” Zac demanded as soon as Devon appeared through the door.  
Devon already had a forlorn look on his face, and neither brother liked it one bit.  
“Well it’s not good,” he came out with.  
“The interrogation’s started?” Isaac guessed.  
“Oh yeah,” Devon’s eyebrows rose as Haddon closed the door behind them, “and I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure we have a heavy case for Stockholm syndrome in there.”  
Both brothers paused as it processed before Zac rubbed his face tiredly.  
“What’s he saying?” Isaac asked worriedly as Jenkins looked between them all.  
“Well he’s already admitted to killing six people,” Haddon offered.  
“Why would he do that?” Zac frowned.  
“Dekker’s good at what he does,” Devon shrugged, “but it almost seems as if he doesn’t care.”  
“And he’s not about to give up Nate’s location,” Haddon added, “he reckons Nate never told him where the bases were, so even though Devon heard him tell Nate to ‘finish them off’ he says he doesn’t know where he’s going.”  
“I believe that,” Isaac gave Zac a glance, “Nate did the same thing to me. When he took me to Chadron, he wouldn’t tell me where we were going until we got there.”  
“When can we talk to him?” Zac asked.  
“You can’t,” Devon sighed, “not yet anyway. And I don’t know when. I’m going to see if they’ll let me talk to him this evening but at this point? I’m not even liking my chances.”  
“So what, he just stays in interrogation forever?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“He’ll be kept in a holding cell overnight,” Haddon replied, “unfortunately we don’t have much of a jail here…”  
Isaac’s eyes narrowed.  
“Meaning?” Zac’s eyes were on Haddon.  
“Meaning…” Haddon was being cautious, “there’s a good chance that unless they want to keep him bunked elsewhere, he could be sharing it with Seth.”  
“You can’t let that happen,” Isaac’s eyes darted between the two, “if you think he’s bad now…”  
“We’re going to try,” Devon assured, “but Tay’s not helping his own case right now. Hopefully… and I only say this because of the repercussions of either situation… but hopefully they’ll hurry with a psych eval and he’ll be held in the medical facility instead.”  
“This is insane,” Zac shook his head.  
“Why won’t they let you talk to him?” Isaac asked.  
“Conflict of interest,” Haddon offered as Devon’s eyes narrowed.  
“Why?” he had to ask, having the feeling that Isaac may have been up to something.  
“Seth,” Isaac said simply, “it might pay to get word to Tay about your lack of evidence problem. Especially if he’s going to end up cellmates with him.”  
“Maybe he could get him to talk,” Zac’s eyes suddenly darted hopefully.  
Devon looked to Haddon.  
“Worth a shot,” Haddon shrugged.  
“And maybe he’ll have a go at him and make the whole situation ten times worse,” Devon winced.  
“Wouldn’t making Tay share a cell with a guy that supposedly wants to kill him count as a conflict of interest anyway?” Zac caught onto Haddon’s earlier statement.  
“I think at the moment they’re more worried about it being the other way around,” Devon admitted.


	67. 67

Taylor held his shirt up and turned slightly to the right as the photographer went about his work.  
“Okay I think I have it,” the soldier confirmed with a nod.  
“Do you want all the new scars, or just the ones with Connor’s name on them?” Taylor looked between he and Dekker.  
“What else have you got?” Dekker asked placidly.  
Taylor smirked before deciding the tackle the largest first. He indicated the chair he’d been sitting in, and once he had Dekker’s nod he took a seat.  
Very gingerly he unzipped the boot on his right foot and pulled it away. He didn’t see the grimace on either soldier’s face as he concentrated on the task of removing the bandages wrapped around it before he set the foot on the floor and rolled the leg of his jeans up slightly.  
“Okay…” the photographer took a deep breath before judging the best angles and making sure he took photos that showed the full extent of the damage.  
“What’s this from?” Dekker asked, pen in hand.  
“It’s from Seth,” Taylor looked up, shaking some hair out of his eyes as he did so, “he wanted to make a video to lure Nate in because he wanted the both of us to be there ready when Connor broke out of jail. So somewhere out there is a video recording of him doing this to me.”  
Dekker and the photographer shared an interested glance.  
“Ready for what?” Dekker caught on.  
Taylor smirked again.  
“Ready to die,” his eyebrows rose, “what else?”  
The photographer gave Dekker a nod when he was done and took a step back.  
“What else do you have?” Dekker nodded towards Taylor’s leg.  
Taylor tried to think back to when both Seth and Connor had him last. The first thing that sprang to mind were his hands, so he held them out palms up before the photographer began snapping away.  
“These are from scaling a barbed wire fence on some random highway,” he shrugged, “I was trying to get away from Jerry, who took me to where they killed Vance.”  
“Jerry? Do you have a last name?” Dekker was writing.  
“No,” Taylor looked up, “but he’s dead.”  
“Was he one of your six?”  
“No,” Taylor scorned, “Connor slit his throat because he found him annoying.”  
Dekker nodded as he finished up, before Taylor swapped legs and rolled up the other leg of his jeans. He grimaced a little as he pulled this bandage away, knowing the wound needing cleaning and already seeing early signs of infection.  
“And this one?” Dekker asked, again in a neutral tone.  
“Tupelo,” Taylor said through his teeth as he turned his leg slightly, his skin pulling on the wound, “they were going to cut it off. This is as far as they got before Nate…”  
He trailed off, the memory of what had happened there catching him off guard.  
“Before Nate?” Dekker asked.  
“Before Nate rescued me,” Taylor’s eyes lowered.  
He waited for the photographer to finish with that before he again stood, pointing out Connor’s lower infliction and ending with where the glass shards had left scattered scars down his side.  
“We’ll need you to see a medic for that leg,” Dekker indicated for him to take a seat again after dismissing the photographer, quickly returning the cuffs to Taylor’s wrists as he did so.


	68. 68

Taylor was holding his leg up for the medical officer that had been brought into the room when the door opened again. Dekker had disappeared not long after the medic arrived, and now he returned with another familiar face.  
“Devon?!” Taylor automatically sat up.  
He cringed and buckled again when the movement pulled against the wound the medic was working on.  
“Hold still,” the officer warned, “we need to get this cleaned up.”  
“Looks bad,” Devon nodded toward it as he came forward to take a seat.  
Dekker shadowed him but didn’t sit down.  
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Taylor assured, the memories of somehow being poisoned at the base coming back and making him give Devon an odd look.  
“What is it?” Devon caught it.  
Taylor gave both Dekker and the medic a glance, wishing he was there with Devon alone.  
“What did you do to me?” he frowned.  
“At the base? When you felt sick?” Devon confirmed with a nod from Taylor, “it was an EMP gun. You were hit with a concentrated blast of radiation.”  
“Why?” Taylor’s brow furrowed, “just to make me sick? So you could arrest me?”  
“That was an unfortunate by-product,” Devon assured, “the main goal of the EMP gun is to target electronics.”  
At Taylor’s confused expression, Devon bit his lip slightly.  
“We were targeting the tracer,” he revealed, “we were hoping – even if Nate managed to keep you away from us – that we could at least sever your link to Connor.”  
Taylor’s eyes widened slightly and darted between he and Dekker.  
“You could fry the tracer?” he looked hopeful.  
“We don’t know for sure if it worked,” Devon shrugged, “and we don’t know how to tell.”  
“A cell phone,” Taylor flinched as he moved his leg again but leant forward anyway, “any cell phone, from any of the guards. If you pulled one off a dead body that’s all you need.”  
“What do you mean?” Dekker frowned.  
“It’s an app,” Taylor looked up at him, “like… Angry Birds or Maps or something. It has an icon of a map and the filename is a code.”  
“Do you know the code?” Devon jumped at the chance.  
“Do you have a phone?” Taylor tried to confirm.  
“You don’t know it off by heart?” Dekker had his pen out again.  
“I’m not a hundred per cent,” Taylor admitted, “but it’s something like… X43HB38? It’s a code. I don’t know if there’s more than one tracer they’re tracking.”  
“Are you on that?” Dekker spoke into an ear piece, making Devon look up at him.  
“If Connor can’t trace me then he might not know I’m here,” Taylor looked between them hopefully.  
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Devon insisted as the medic found it harder to hold Taylor’s leg still, “there’s still Seth to worry about. If he hasn’t figured out you’re here yet he’s bound to soon.”  
“Why? Who’s gonna tell him?” Taylor looked worried.  
Devon gave Dekker a glance, not wanting to give him the real reason.  
“I need to talk to you about him. About something else,” he changed the subject slightly.  
“Something else?” Taylor just looked confused.


	69. 69

“How can there be _nothing_?” Taylor almost looked scared.  
“There isn’t nothing,” Devon assured, “there’s just… not enough.”  
Taylor looked down at where the medic was finishing off his bandage before leaning forward to put his head in his hands.  
“If there’s anything you can possibly think of to link Seth to anything he’s done to either you or Zac-“  
“Like what?” Taylor looked up incredulously, “I’ve already said there’s video out there somewhere. But how am I supposed to know how to find it?!”  
“What video is out there?” Devon looked curious, “anything aside from security cameras?”  
Taylor gave Dekker a glance, who nodded to give him the okay to tell Devon.  
“Seth recorded video – or rather Jerry did – of Seth throwing fuel onto my foot and setting it alight,” he tried to stay calm as he spoke, “he said it was a video for Nate, and sometime later I overheard him admit that Nate had seen it. So it’s out there somewhere.”  
“Nate would obviously have access to it,” Dekker shrugged, “but he won’t give up Nate.”  
“I _can’t_ give up Nate, I don’t know where he is!” Taylor exclaimed.  
“But would you if you did?” Dekker asked flatly, Devon’s eyes narrowing as he watched Taylor’s reaction.  
Taylor hesitated, his mind racing for an answer both honest and that they would take.  
“That’s what I thought,” Dekker smirked.  
“He didn’t say no,” Devon defended as Taylor’s eyes lowered.  
“He didn’t say yes either.”  
Taylor looked toward the medic as the two other soldiers lowered their voices to argue their point. He’d finished strapping the bandage, and after collecting up his kit he left the room without making eye contact with anyone. As Taylor looked down at the newly neat bandage, the scar on his left arm caught his eye.  
“I think we have a serious case of SS, and you can’t deny you’re thinking it too,” Devon was trying to keep his voice down but evidently struggling.  
“That’s not for us to decide,” Dekker said pointedly, “and until he’s diagnosed we need to treat him like anyone else.”  
“I have it,” Taylor looked up suddenly, making both soldiers pause.  
“You have… what?” Dekker frowned, his arms folded.  
“Evidence,” Taylor stared up at him, “against Seth. Irrefutable.”  
“Irrefutable?” Devon’s eyebrows rose, “what is it?”  
Taylor gulped slightly, still not sure if he wanted to say it out loud.  
“The tracer,” he admitted, “before they implanted it, Seth picked it up to show it to me. His fingerprints are all over it.”  
“We still have the x-rays, right?” Devon’s eyes shot to Dekker.  
“We can have the surgeon do the extraction in the morning,” Dekker nodded.  
“Wait,” Taylor frowned, “don’t you need my permission first?”  
Devon gave him a blank look.  
“You’re not giving it?” he looked confused.  
“No,” Taylor scorned, “Devon you know what this means! And you _know_ why I haven’t given it up before now.”  
“We don’t necessarily need _your_ permission,” Dekker gave Devon a calculated look.


	70. 70

“What do you mean?” Taylor’s eyes darted.  
Devon sighed and leant back in his chair, going to bite his nails but stopping himself.  
“What does he mean?!” Taylor demanded, slight panic in his voice.  
“What I mean is…” Dekker answered, “it may depend on the outcome of your psychiatric evaluation.”  
“My what?” Taylor’s frown deepened.  
“You need to do a psych exam,” Devon put plainly, avoiding eye contact.  
“Why?” Taylor scorned, “you don’t think I’m in my right mind? You think I’m crazy?!”  
“Taylor I don’t know what to think,” Devon shook his head, “I saw you kill a man in cold blood today.”  
“We are in a _war_!” Taylor leant forward, “and war has casualties!”  
“We’re not in a war,” Dekker shook his head, “you’ve just had a great wrong done to you, and in turn it’s made you become a vigilante. Taking the law into your own hands.”  
“A vigilante?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “that’s what you think of me?”  
When Dekker only shrugged Taylor groaned in frustration.  
“When can I get this over with?” he asked as he put his head back in his hands.  
“I’ll order it for the morning,” Dekker assured.  
“And what happens then?”  
“If you fail…” Devon took a deep breath, “the responsibility falls to next of kin. It’ll be Natalie’s choice.”  
“She won’t do it,” Taylor’s eyes darted up in hope, “she knows what this means for me, she won’t sign off on it.”  
“I’m sure we could convince her to,” Dekker mused, jotting down notes for the appointment.  
“Devon?!” Taylor’s brow furrowed.  
Devon was obviously uncomfortable at the turn the conversation was taking. When he saw the look on Taylor’s face he stood from his chair.  
“Devon please!” Taylor was begging now, standing himself, “you know! You know what they’ll do!”  
“Tay we need to nail this guy,” Devon in turn begged for him to understand, “and we need to do anything it takes. You wanted that once too, remember?”  
“I still do!” Taylor’s voice broke, “but there’s gotta be another way!”  
“Name it,” Dekker challenged.  
“I am begging you,” Taylor locked eyes with him, “don’t do this. We will find another way.”  
“We?” Dekker smirked, before indicating for Devon to leave.  
“Let me help,” Taylor tried, “I will give you absolutely anything I can. You know I will.”  
“I expect you will,” Dekker nodded as Devon reluctantly left the room, “and I’m sure anything you feel like giving up will be approached accordingly.”  
“Dekker don’t talk to me like I’m one of them,” Taylor shook his head, “come on, you know me!”  
“Do I?” Dekker stepped closer to the table, making Taylor wish he was able to step back, “because I knew the old Taylor.”  
Taylor blanched, his words reminding him of something Isaac had once said to him.  
“I don’t know this one,” Dekker indicated him.  
“He just has more scars,” Taylor pleaded, his voice softer, “that’s all.”  
“We’re going to see exactly how deep they run first,” Dekker assured, before following Devon out.


	71. 71

“How is he? What’s he saying?”  
Zac and Isaac had been waiting at the door of the lockdown facility in the Pentagon since Devon had gone through. He’d promised he wouldn’t be long.  
“He’s…” Devon trailed off with a wince, “I don’t know. We’ll find out more tomorrow.”  
“Tomorrow?” Zac frowned.  
“When can we see him? Talk to him?” Isaac asked.  
“You can’t,” Devon said flatly, “at least not yet. They’re sending him for a psych exam in the morning and we’ll know more then.”  
Zac gave a nearby guard a glance before beginning to lead the way back down the hall.  
“What do you think they’re going to find?” Isaac had to ask.  
“I think Stockholm,” Devon said determinedly, “but it doesn’t matter what I think, what matters is what the doctor thinks. Dekker isn’t confident they’re not gonna find him competent.”  
“Which means what?” Zac slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket.  
“Which means he’s going to have to answer for everything he’s done,” Devon reasoned.  
“Did you tell him about Seth?” Isaac asked.  
“Yes,” Devon admitted, stopping in his tracks.  
The two brothers turned back warily.  
“And?” Zac frowned, “did he come up with something?”  
“In a manner of speaking,” Devon checked either way down the hall for eavesdroppers, “but he’s not exactly being co-operative with it either.”  
“Why not?” Zac suddenly looked like he was willing to go in and beat whatever it was out of him.  
“It’s the tracer,” Devon revealed, “apparently Seth’s fingerprints are all over it.”  
“Oh,” Isaac realised, “is that all…”  
“And he’s not gonna give it up?” Zac guessed, Devon nodding in turn, “does he know what this means? Does he know Seth could walk without it?”  
“He does,” Devon confirmed, “but he’s more concerned with preserving his arm. Which… considering the state of the rest of him I completely understand.”  
“How bad is it?” Isaac was suddenly worried.  
“Bad,” Devon gave him a glance.  
“Let us talk to him,” Zac insisted, “if anyone can talk him around, we can.”  
“You might not need to,” Devon again looked uncomfortable, “if Tay fails the psych exam, it’ll be up to Natalie.”  
Zac and Isaac looked at each other.  
“What are his chances of failing?” Isaac asked.  
“From what I saw? Great,” Devon assured.  
“We need to talk to Nat,” Zac decided.  
“Taylor seems to think she won’t give it up either,” Devon looked between them, “but I haven’t spent all that much time with her. What’s your take on it?”  
“We can talk her down,” Zac insisted.  
“She wouldn’t want to give it up because of what it’ll do to his arm, and I know he’s explained it to her in depth,” Isaac reasoned, “but if we explain that without it – and if Seth gets off and Connor isn’t found – he’ll probably never play again anyway, it might bring her around.”  
“See what you can do tonight, ‘cause that’s all the time you have,” Devon insisted, “and good luck.”


	72. 72

“When can I see my brothers?” Taylor asked as both Dekker and another soldier he’d never seen before led him out of the interrogation room.  
“You can’t,” Dekker replied simply.  
“Why not?” Taylor frowned, “you really think we’re going to conspire or something?”  
“You’re not seeing anyone until we get that exam done,” Dekker insisted, “and then they’re going to need clearance. You should know the protocol by now.”  
“Not from this angle,” Taylor looked down to concentrate on where he was going.  
It wasn’t far to the holding cells. When he was led into the room that held them Taylor saw the one in front of him with the fiberglass door already open. There were only three small cells, and while the middle one sat empty the third to the left certainly didn’t.  
“No… _no_!” Taylor suddenly dug in his heels, almost making Dekker and the other soldier fall over in his rush.  
“Is there a problem?” Seth’s eyebrows rose, looking smug as he leant with arms lazily hanging from the centre gap in his door.  
“Dekker?!” Taylor looked to him incredulously.  
“Relax,” Dekker insisted as they pulled him forward regardless, “there’ll be a guard posted day and night. He’s not going to try anything.”  
Seth watched with amusement as Taylor was taken to his cell, eyes not leaving him until he couldn’t see him anymore. Taylor felt himself shoved into the cell before hearing the catches on the door falling into place.  
“Hands through here,” the other soldier patted the gap in his door.  
Taylor took a moment to comprehend where he was and who he was with before pulling himself together enough to comply. The soldier released his handcuffs and swiftly left the area.  
“Dekker this is not a good idea,” Taylor insisted, hoping he was speaking low enough for Seth to not hear.  
“It’s the only option we have right now,” Dekker insisted, “food will be here shortly, then just get some sleep. You’ve got a big morning coming up.”  
“Ooh, ominous,” Seth’s taunting voice floated through.  
“Shut up,” Dekker scorned to his left.  
“Make me, Dekker,” was Seth’s retort.  
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Taylor put his hands on his head as he started pacing.  
“Just ignore him,” was all Dekker offered before following the other soldier out.  
“Easy for you to say,” Taylor muttered under his breath, giving the stationed guard a wary glance before continuing to pace while biting his nails.  
There was a short moment of silence in which Taylor began to hope that Seth might actually leave him alone, but there soon came a short chuckle and Taylor knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.  
“Of all the places I imagined catching up with you…” his voice came through, “I must say this wasn’t anywhere near the top of my list.”  
“Just leave me alone!” Taylor called back, feeling his adrenaline spiking.  
He found himself wishing for nothing more than to have a gun in his hands at that very moment.  
“Come now, you know me better than that,” Seth almost smirked.  
Taylor groaned to himself before going to sit on the small bed in the cell and put his head in his hands again. This was going to be a very long night.


	73. 73

“I hear you’ve been having some fun in our various play pens…”  
It didn’t take long for Taylor to hear Seth’s voice floating through again. He looked up toward the stationed guard from where he sat on the bed, trying to judge if he would intervene.  
At Taylor’s lack of response, Seth smirked.  
“Did they tell you how they found you yet?” he asked coyly.  
Taylor had been planning to ignore him, but at the question his curiosity peaked. He’d just assumed the army had managed to trace him through his contact with Zac.  
“Is that a ‘no’?” Seth guessed, trying to keep the one-sided conversation going, “would you like me to tell you?”  
“What would you know?” Taylor frowned.  
“Ah… he speaks!” Seth sounded victorious making Taylor roll his eyes, “they found you because I told them where you were going.”  
“And how would you know where I was going?” Taylor frowned, wondering if Seth somehow still had access to the tracer program.  
“Because they tried to use your activities to extract information from me,” Seth didn’t sound at all worried about that fact, “considering the damage you’ve been doing I deemed it necessary to help them along a little.”  
“Why on Earth would you send the army to one of your own bases?” Taylor was confused, “how did you know Connor wouldn’t be there? Or anyone else you wouldn’t want detained?”  
“Firstly, it was Krüger’s base and not mine. And secondly, because I know what Connor would have done the moment you started your little crusade,” he could practically hear Seth rolling his eyes, “there shouldn’t have been anyone important left by the time you got there. Am I right?”  
“Is anyone even important to you?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “why don’t you tell me what happened to Kathryn?”  
There was a tense moment of silence which eventually made Taylor get to his feet again.  
“What happened to her was unfortunate,” Seth admitted a moment later.  
“Unfortunate?” Taylor scoffed, “you left her there to _die_ , and you were her everything!”  
“Perhaps if she hadn’t failed so hard in her duties with you, she wouldn’t have been in a situation where that had to happen,” Seth scorned, “but I’m sorry… are you getting high and mighty on me? Because I’m sure you’re aware that I am not the only one in this room with blood on his hands.”  
“You wanted me to take peoples’ lives away, maybe I’m just taking it literally!” Taylor’s voice rose.  
“Don’t put your little homicidal streak on me, Taylor,” Seth’s voice stayed low, “that my boy, was all you.”  
“Then who else?!” Taylor demanded, eyes going to the ceiling in exasperation, “Krüger had me right where he wanted me! I would have been his and that would have been the end of it! But you had to be greedy. You had to come along and decide that you wanted me for yourself!”  
He paused, realising how worked up he was getting.  
“And then Connor did the same thing.”  
“Are you upset that Krüger was… eliminated?” Seth asked curiously.  
“No,” Taylor scorned, at the same time regrettably wondering if that were true, “why would I be?”  
“He obviously meant a lot to you,” Seth had a hint of muse in his voice.  
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Taylor responded a little too quickly.  
Seth noticed, and it caused him to chuckle.


	74. 74

“I know what that does to people like you.”  
Taylor felt like Seth had been going on forever. He wasn’t sure how Dekker expected him to sleep with the constant distraction, and the supervising soldier wasn’t doing anything to stop him.  
“You begin to feel lost. Like you have no sense of direction,” Seth went on, undeterred by the silence and knowing that Taylor was listening, “like you need someone to point you in the right direction. You need someone to tell you what to do.”  
“Shut _up_!” Taylor exclaimed suddenly, covering his ears as he paced the cell.  
“Of course the last person I expected you to turn to was Nate…” Seth trailed off as the door opened.  
Taylor looked up to see Devon poke his head through.  
“Devon,” Taylor breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped over to the door.  
Devon had a short word with the guard, before giving Seth a subtle glare and heading over to Taylor.  
“Devon please, I need to get out of here,” Taylor begged as he leant on the gap, “get them to take me back to interrogation if they have to, but please get me away from him.”  
Devon looked to his left in the direction of Seth’s cell before shaking his head.  
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” he said softly, “it’s above my pay grade.”  
Taylor grimaced, leaning down slightly.  
“But I can do something else,” Devon assured.  
Taylor looked up to see Devon passing a cell phone through the gap. With a confused look, Taylor took it.  
“What’s it for?” he asked.  
“Your brothers are going to try and convince Natalie tonight to sign off on removing the tracer,” Devon revealed making Taylor’s eyes widen, “I didn’t need to tell you that, but I thought you should know. I thought you might want to call her.”  
Taylor paused as he registered what Devon had said, before he began to look worried.  
“You’re not supposed to be here, are you?” Taylor asked softly, giving the guard a glance.  
Devon shook his head.  
“Does Dekker know?” Taylor frowned.  
“Just call her,” Devon insisted, “speed dial one. I’ll need to wait, so be quick.”  
Taylor hesitated, but relented with a nod. He took the phone over to the bed and did as Devon instructed before putting the phone to his ear.  
Natalie must have been expecting the call because she answered within two rings.  
“Tay?”  
“Hey,” Taylor already felt a lump in his throat.  
Just the sound of her voice was making him emotional from the start.  
“Tay are you okay?!”  
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Taylor rubbed his face.  
“Don’t lie to me.”  
Taylor paused, closing his eyes. He didn’t know where to begin.  
“I’m not fine,” he admitted, willing his voice not to break.  
“What did Nate do to you?!” he could hear the emotion in Natalie’s voice too.  
“Can we please not talk about him?” Taylor almost whispered, “I need to ask you a favour.”  
“A favour?” she sounded incredulous, “Tay they won’t let me do anything. What could I possibly do for you?”  
“I need you to hold your ground with Ike and Zac,” Taylor pleaded, knowing he’d have to explain.


	75. 75

Taylor tried not to be long, and once he felt he’d said his piece he ended the call with Natalie and handed Devon back the phone. He eyed it as Devon took it back, wishing he could call either Isaac or Zac as well.  
“I’m sorry,” Devon said after a moment.  
“For what?” Taylor was suddenly worried there was something Devon wasn’t telling him.  
“That they’re keeping you like this,” Devon winced, feeling like he’d never meant an apology more in his life, “I know that if there is a problem, upstairs, that this can’t be helping.”  
Taylor blanched a little at the reference to his impending psychiatric exam, but shrugged.  
“It’s not like I haven’t had worse,” he offered, not sure if it would help.  
“I guess,” Devon still looked worried.  
Taylor stared down at the phone still in Devon’s hand, wondering for a moment why he hadn’t left yet when he was obviously uneasy at being there.  
“Did you find our car?” he asked suddenly.  
“What car?” Devon’s eyes shot to him.  
“The car Nate and I were using. When you guys picked me up,” Taylor looked thoughtful.  
“I believe we did…” Devon nodded, trying to think, “was it a green hatchback?”  
“That’s it,” Taylor confirmed, “in the glove compartment was a white cell phone.”  
He hesitated, knowing very well that Seth was listening in.  
“It belonged to a guy named Stuart Ross,” Taylor revealed, “he manned the base in Mississippi. I called Zac from that phone.”  
“Okay…” Devon wasn’t sure where he was going.  
They heard Seth clearing his throat pointedly and tried to ignore him.  
“Before that, the last person he called was Connor,” Taylor’s voice lowered, “if you find that phone you can get his number. Maybe someone can trace it.”  
“Damn,” Devon cursed, once again stopping himself just before biting his nails.  
“What?” Taylor’s worry grew, “don’t tell me it was destroyed or something?”  
“No, no it wasn’t,” Devon assured, “I just…”  
He took a deep breath then leant closer to the door again. Taylor bent forward to be closer to the gap in order to hear him.  
“I’m not supposed to be here, doing this,” Devon reminded him, “so what am I supposed to say to them? How am I supposed to know about that?”  
Taylor’s eyes darted as he looked for an explanation.  
“Tell them to check the car for a phone,” he came up with, “that phone also has the tracer program on it. You can say you want to find out if it’s still active.”  
Devon looked to his left again, watching for any movement from Seth at what they were talking about.   
“You haven’t confirmed it yet, right?” Taylor checked.  
“We haven’t,” Devon admitted, “but it’s getting close to midnight, most of the tech guys have left for the day.”  
“Then aim for the car,” Taylor insisted, “find that phone. It’s probably dead by now but it’ll have dozens of voicemails. Some of them may even be from Connor.”  
He looked uneasy for a moment before leaning forward again.  
“He worked out that I had it and left a few for me too,” he said, “you might find something there.”


	76. 76

“How is he?” Isaac asked as Devon appeared.  
Devon sighed, purely not wanting to answer the question.  
“That bad, huh?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose as he began to follow him back.  
“He gave me something, at least,” Devon admitted, “we might have a way of tracking Connor.”  
“You’re kidding,” Isaac tried not to be too hopeful, “how? How soon can you do it?”  
“I wasn’t supposed to be in there, so first I need to work out how to get around it,” Devon hushed him, “hopefully I can put things in motion in the morning.”  
“What happens if Tay fails tomorrow?” Isaac asked suddenly.  
Devon stopped in his tracks, again looking either way down the corridor.  
“It depends on the severity,” he considered – though he obviously didn’t want to, “he might still have to face charges. Or he could end up in a nut house.”  
“Is there any possible way he’s going to come out of this and just come home?” Isaac had to ask.  
Devon sighed, still keeping an eye out. When he looked Isaac in the eye Isaac felt himself recoil slightly.  
“I don’t see one,” he admitted, “but if they can make a strong enough case on SS or PTSD, then… I don’t know. I want to say yes but it’s not up to me.”  
“He was diagnosed with PTSD after Mexico, Zac too,” Isaac jumped on it, “even after he first met Nate I’m pretty sure they said PTSD.”  
“They’ll need to contact his doctors at home then and get a workable background log,” Devon started walking again, “if they have records of PTSD going back to 2004 it’ll make the case stronger.”  
“Will they need help with that?” Isaac asked.  
“It shouldn’t be hard for them to do, especially since everything went electronic,” Devon shrugged, “worse comes to worse they’ll have his files faxed over from Tulsa. Or wherever his main doctor is.”  
“Okay,” Isaac breathed a sigh, “at least we’ll have something to work with.”  
“Is Zac with Nat?” Devon asked.  
“Yeah, he wanted to get a head start,” Isaac scratched at his head, “think he was going to say goodnight to the kids first so he could spend all night there if he needed to.”  
“Are you going with?” Devon asked.  
“If Zac’s going to spend all night talking to Nat…” Isaac shrugged, “I at least want one of us to be there for Tay’s exam. I should probably get some sleep.”  
“You know they won’t let you actually _be_ there, right?” Devon checked.  
“I know,” Isaac nodded, “but I figure if I make enough of a nuisance of myself they might eventually let me at least talk to him. Maybe I could work my way into a corridor as he’s being transferred or something.”  
“They won’t let you through that door,” Devon turned to indicate, “as you’ve probably noticed.”  
“I’m not going to stop trying,” Isaac shrugged.  
“Didn’t say you should,” Devon mused, “just as long as you’re aware of what you’re in for.”  
“I feel like I’ve spent half my life chasing Tay, I know what I’m in for,” Isaac smirked.  
They reached the end of the corridor and prepared to go their separate ways.  
“Let me know if you hear anything,” Isaac insisted.  
“Always will,” Devon assured, “goodnight Isaac. Tell Zac good luck.”  
“Will do if I see him,” Isaac saluted.  
Devon sighed again and continued on his way, pausing as he saw Dekker step out of a far doorway.


	77. 77

On his way to the detainment portion of the Pentagon the following morning Isaac decided to stop in and see Haddon. Regardless of Taylor having been found they were still trying to trace both Connor and Nate’s whereabouts, with particular focus on how they could have been evaded from both Salamanca and now Lufkin.  
He was surprised to find Haddon looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He’d been fine the day before.  
“Are you okay?” Isaac frowned, closing the door behind him.  
Haddon looked up startled as if he hadn’t even noticed him walk in.  
“That depends what you mean by ‘okay’,” he held back a yawn, “it’s been a long night.”  
“Did something happen?” Isaac frowned, looking to the screens.  
“Not out there, that I’ve seen,” Haddon’s eyebrows rose, “but the proverbial you-know-what certainly hit the fan in here.”  
“What do you mean?” Isaac turned back, sipping at his morning coffee.  
Haddon sighed, looking like he didn’t want to be the one to tell him.  
“Devon’s gone,” he announced.  
“Gone?” Isaac’s frown only deepened, “what do you mean gone?”  
“I mean he’s off the case,” Haddon elaborated, awkwardly focusing back on his laptop screen, “Dekker found out he went to see Taylor last night without authorisation. He took it to Andrews, saying that it was ‘compromising his investigation’ or some bollocks and happened to throw Henry’s name into the mix. As a result Devon was put on immediate leave. They sent him home.”  
“Devon knows this case better than anyone,” Isaac looked incredulous, “surely they can’t just let him go like that?”  
“I’d like to assume they’d keep him in contact as an informant of some sort,” Haddon shrugged, “but I doubt it. Once Andrews puts his foot down there’s not much you can do. And really there isn’t anything Devon knows that we don’t, unless you guys have been keeping secrets from us.”  
“Of course not,” Isaac scorned.  
“Then we should be able to carry on,” Haddon shrugged.  
“When did it happen? Does Zac know?”  
“I doubt it,” Haddon shook his head, “like I said, it’s been a long night. He only left a few hours ago after having to answer some very heavy questioning.”  
“Anyone told Tay?”  
“He’s not awake yet as far as I know. But I’ll assume Dekker won’t be able to help himself first thing.”  
“Zac’s gonna flip,” Isaac tried to imagine.  
“Devon knows as well as anyone else that he was in the wrong,” Haddon reasoned, “if you don’t play by the rules you get disqualified. He’s lucky all they’re doing is forcing time off.”  
Isaac nodded to himself, thinking it over.  
“Whyte said something similar,” he admitted with a sigh, “almost like he knew it was coming.”  
“Whyte’s got a good few years on the rest of us,” Haddon mused, “he probably knows what us young ins are like.”  
“I’ll give him that,” Isaac nodded.  
He watched the screen for a moment longer before shaking his head.  
“I’d better get down there,” he said decidedly, “they’re probably going to start Tay’s exam once he wakes up.”  
“It’s scheduled for eight,” Haddon offered as Isaac disappeared.


	78. 78

Taylor jolted awake as the door opened into the small foyer. A groan from Seth’s direction told him Seth had finally fallen asleep too.  
“Get up Hanson,” came the order.  
Unable to hold back a slight gulp at the vocal tone, Taylor quickly pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes as the soldier indicated the door gap.  
“Hands here.”  
Taylor took a deep breath as he finally stood and made his way to the door. Handcuffs were once again locked around his wrists before the door was opened.  
As he was pulled out he looked down toward Seth’s cell. He couldn’t see him, which meant he was probably still on the bed.   
He was led back into the now familiar interrogation room where he had his handcuffs secured to the table once again. When the soldier simply left him alone with a promise that the doctor would be in shortly, he opted to rest his head on the table and close his eyes for a few moments longer.  
Having to deal with Seth had made it a long and restless night.  
He’d almost managed to fall asleep again by the time the door opened. He looked up tiredly as both a man in a white coat – obviously the doctor – and Dekker made their way in and took up the opposite seats.  
“Good morning Mr Hanson,” the doctor greeted, “I’m Doctor Perkins and I’ll be handling your evaluation this morning.”  
“Morning,” Taylor greeted in response, giving Dekker a wary glance.  
“Do you mind if I call you Taylor?”  
“I’d prefer it,” he admitted.  
He waited as the doctor opened his file and took a quick glance through. He hummed a little to himself as he did so, already putting Taylor on edge.  
“I see,” he finally said to himself, before closing the folder and taking up a notepad and pen instead.  
Dekker noticed the movement and slid a voice recorder onto the table, setting it going as he did so.  
“Subject Jordan Taylor Hanson,” the doctor spoke loud enough for it to hear, “8am, day one.”  
‘Day one?’ Taylor mouthed, giving Dekker an incredulous look.  
“Taylor,” the doctor finally focused on him again, “what can you tell me about your relationship with Nathan Devereux?”  
“What about it?” Taylor’s eyes darted worriedly.  
“You can start wherever you’d like,” the doctor shrugged, “but I’d like to pay special attention to your feelings toward one another. How you feel about him and his influence on you, and anything he may have said to you in relation to those feelings.”  
Taylor lowered his eyes as his face flushed red. He was sure the doctor was making it sound a lot more awkward than he had to.  
“We have a… mutual understanding,” he frowned as he tried to explain.  
“Mutual?” the doctor asked innocently, “in what way? Do you both have to agree on procedures before they’re carried out?”  
“Procedures?” Taylor looked up.  
“For example your recent activities. I’m told Nate decides where you go. Where is your influence?”  
Taylor paused to think about it before replying.  
“I asked him to help me,” was what he came up with, “and that’s what he was doing.”


	79. 79

“That’s not really the question though, is it?” the doctor smiled a little, as if in an effort to keep him calm, “I’d like to know where your influence comes into these matters, as how you can relate on a personal level to Nathan.”  
“I don’t get what you mean,” Taylor spread his hands a little, “we have a partnership. We both agreed on what we were doing, and knew that it was the only way forward.”  
“Then break it down for me,” the doctor suggested, “when you first decide to target a property, how do you go about it?”  
“Nate decides where, because I don’t know where they are,” Taylor admitted as he lowered his eyes again, “we drive out there. He gives me an idea of the layout. Sometimes I’ll go in as bait…”  
“Do you offer to do this, or does he ask you to?” the doctor intervened.  
“I…” Taylor paused for thought again, “I guess he asks me to. If he thinks it’s the best way in.”  
“Go on,” the doctor nodded.  
“Then every base is different,” Taylor shrugged, “we obviously aim for the higher-ups and take out as many guards as we can, while trying to save whoever they might have left onsite.”  
The doctor hummed a little to himself as he took down some notes. Taylor frowned as he watched him, wondering what he could possibly be getting from this.  
“When you’ve completed each mission, what do you do?” the doctor asked without looking up.  
“Find a motel and get some sleep,” Taylor looked confused.  
“And who chooses the motel?”  
“We find the most convenient one,” Taylor shrugged, “something off the main road but easy enough to traverse.”  
“So it’s a joint decision?”  
“Yes,” Taylor insisted.  
“What about food?” the doctor looked up, “what do you do for meals?”  
“Nate usually gets something and brings it back,” Taylor shrugged.  
“He doesn’t allow you to leave the motel?”  
Taylor hesitated again. He hadn’t really seen it that way.  
“I haven’t wanted to,” he frowned, “I thought it was a mutual understanding that I’d be easier to identify. It was safer that I stay.”  
“Has Nathan ever given you reason not to trust him with your food?” the doctor asked.  
Taylor blanched at the unexpected question and shot a look at Dekker. Dekker frowned as soon as he did so and Taylor knew he’d been caught out on it already.  
“Once,” he admitted with a slight gulp, “he drugged me once.”  
“Why would he do that?” the doctor looked concerned.  
“I was out of line,” Taylor diverted his eyes, “I was getting cocky. He just…”  
He trailed off uncertainly, putting two and two together on what the doctor was getting at.  
“He just… what?” the doctor pressed.  
Taylor rolled his eyes, knowing they were going to jump on his answer.  
“Wanted to reiterate who was in charge,” he finally admitted.  
“So Nathan was in charge,” the doctor confirmed, “he was in control of the situation.”  
Taylor nodded.  
“You’ll need to keep your answers out loud,” Dekker informed him.  
“Yes,” Taylor said aloud, “yes, Nate was in charge.”


	80. 80

“What kind of things did Nathan do to assert his authority?” the doctor asked.  
Taylor only frowned, unsure of how to answer that. When the doctor realised he wasn’t responding he sat back slightly.  
“For example, you’ve already said that he drugged you,” he offered, “did he just make you sick? How did you know it was to keep you… ‘in line’?”  
“He liked to keep me handcuffed,” Taylor admitted sullenly, and despite the admission still wishing he was back with Nate in one of their seedy motels, “and he told me as much. That we were having issues with authority. But I told him he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t keep me restrained because Connor could have showed up at any second and I needed to be able to defend myself.”  
“You weren’t worried about defending yourself against Nathan?”  
“No,” Taylor looked confused as to why he’d need to.  
The doctor hummed again before taking more notes.  
“Nate doesn’t hurt me unless he deems it necessary. Not anymore,” Taylor tried to defend, “I know it’s messed up but I had to stay with him. He was the only one who _could_ help me.”  
“Help you what?” the doctor finished writing before looking up.  
“Find the bases,” Taylor insisted, “he’s the only one I know who I knew I could trust that knows where they all are.”  
“You trust Nathan?” the doctor confirmed.  
“Yes,” Taylor insisted, “he wants nothing more than to keep me alive. And I appreciate being kept alive.”  
“What makes you think that?” the doctor tilted his head slightly.  
“He’s saved my life multiple times,” Taylor started picking at his nails, “twice he’s had to give me a blood transfusion. Other times he’s just killed people before they could kill me.”  
He took a deep breath.  
“He’s the one who got me out of Connor’s dungeon and took me to the motel where I could call Andrews. I spent a week in that dungeon, and I learnt the hard way why they call it that.”  
“Understandable then how you would see Nathan as a sort of hero,” the doctor assured.  
“No one else came for me,” Taylor pointed out.  
The doctor hummed affirmatively.  
“Has Nathan ever put you into a situation that he’s then… had to ‘rescue’ you from?” he asked a moment later.  
Taylor frowned at that. He knew that technically all of it was Nate’s fault, but the past was the past and he’d had to put it behind him in order for them to do what they were doing.  
“Yes,” he felt was the easy answer, “but not intentionally, I don’t think.”  
“How do you mean?” the doctor looked curious.  
“I think a lot of situations went further than he thought they would,” Taylor reasoned, “like Tupelo. I was just meant to go in and distract them. Nate didn’t know they’d knock me out and try to cut my leg off. But he still made it in time to save it. To save me.”  
“He must have known there was a possibility of that happening,” the doctor suggested tenderly, “especially if these people knew who you were and that you were coming. If they knew you might be a threat.”  
“I don’t believe Nate expected them to attack me,” Taylor insisted, “and you won’t convince me otherwise. He would have done himself a disservice by letting them because I couldn’t help him.”


	81. 81

“What do you think?” Dekker asked after he’d closed the door on Taylor and led the doctor into the adjoining room where they could watch him through the mirror.  
Taylor sat staring at the table with a frown, going over the Q&A session in his head and trying to work out if he’d said anything wrong.  
“I think we have a definitive case of Stockholm syndrome in its most classic form,” the doctor nodded, slipping his clipboard under his arm, “despite all that Nathan Devereux has put him through – and indeed continues to put him through – he is still exhibiting a strong dependency on the man and his word. I wouldn’t doubt that if Nathan strode through the front door and simply asked Taylor to go with him that he would.”  
Dekker nodded to himself before sighing.  
“What else?” his eyebrows rose.  
“I’m not going to rule out Post-Traumatic Stress either,” Dr Perkins reasoned, “but we’ll know more when he’s been here a while. It’s a bit too early to tell with that one.”  
“So what do we do?” Dekker asked curiously, “what do you do for someone with Stockholm? Obviously Devereux’s been taken out of the equation already, but what else?”  
The doctor sighed and shook his head.  
“Each case is different,” he admitted, “though all the usual signs are there. He clearly sees Nathan as an authority figure. He clearly disagrees with the military approach to the operation, thus not only going along with Nathan’s alternative but indeed encouraging it. He perceives Nathan’s saving his life as a gesture of kindness or generosity as opposed to a simple need or want to keep him around. On top of that Taylor has spent an unfortunate amount of time isolated with him, and not only in this instance.”  
“So he has Stockholm,” Dekker wasn’t intent on listening to the doctor go on and on, “what can we do for him to turn it around?”  
“Keeping him away from Nathan is a good start,” the doctor nodded as he looked back at Taylor and pushed his glasses up his nose.  
Taylor had leant his head on the table again, tempted to try and get more sleep while he was away from Seth.  
“But he will need support from the people he would have had these feelings for before. Has he mentioned his family at all?”  
“He wants to talk to his brothers,” Dekker admitted, “he’s said that a few times.”  
“That’s a good start,” Perkins assured, “a lot of times the patient will want to close themselves off from anyone other than their abuser. If he wants to talk to his brothers then that is a good sign.”  
Dekker nodded, before turning to leave the room. The doctor followed him out.  
“Will it be a problem?” he asked as he followed Dekker down the corridor.  
“I don’t see how,” Dekker assured.  
“Sometimes the victim will alienate themselves from their family and friends in order to focus their attention better to their abuser’s needs,” the doctor went on, “perhaps Taylor has done that without meaning to?”  
Dekker paused at the door and opened it. Isaac looked up startled from where he’d been leaning against the wall.  
“I don’t think he’ll get rid of them that easy,” Dekker indicated him.  
“Why do I suddenly have the feeling that I should… run?” Isaac looked between them worriedly.


	82. 82

Taylor looked up tiredly as the door opened again, soon jumping to his feet when he saw who it was.  
“Ike?!” his eyes widened.  
“Tay,” Isaac looked relieved as he made his way over.  
He pulled his brother into a hug – one he couldn’t reciprocate due to the cuffs on his wrists.  
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Taylor leant his head into his brother’s shoulder, not having seen him since the night Vance had been killed.  
“I’m fine,” Isaac insisted, “as is Zac. We’re more worried about you.”  
“I don’t think it went so well,” Taylor shook his head as Isaac pulled away, glancing toward the door as Dekker came in and closed it behind him.  
Isaac hesitated, before taking up one of the opposite seats and reaching out to take one of Taylor’s hands as he also sat down.  
“You’ll be fine,” Isaac looked him in the eye insistently, “and you know we’re all here for you.”  
“I know,” Taylor insisted, giving Dekker a glance, “Devon assured me.”  
Isaac’s eyes lowered as he tried to think of what to tell him about Devon.  
“Tay…”  
Taylor’s eyes shot to his brother, now noticing how awkward he looked.  
“What is it?” he frowned.  
“It’s Devon,” Isaac looked up, “he’s been taken off the case.”  
Taylor dropped Isaac’s hand and sat up straighter.  
“What do you mean?” his eyes shot between the two in the room.  
“He’s gone home,” Isaac rubbed his chin absently, “they found out he went to see you last night. And they found out about Henry.”  
“Henry?” Taylor frowned, “who’s Henry?”  
Isaac stared blankly for a moment, before realising that Taylor had never had the chance to find out.  
“Henry is Devon’s cousin,” his voice lowered, “he was taken in by the Creeds about seven years ago. They found him with Zac, serving under Fowler.”  
Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“Wow,” he diverted his eyes as he thought, “I’m… glad he’s okay then. Poor Devon.”  
“He’s not really okay,” Isaac winced, “he was shot by the army when they went to retrieve Zac. Last I heard he was in intensive care. I’ll assume Devon’s gone to be with him rather than going home.”  
Taylor just nodded, unsure of what to say to that.  
“So why did they let you see me?” he decided to change the subject, “Dekker seemed pretty adamant that I wouldn’t get to see anyone.”  
Isaac turned to look over his shoulder. Dekker was staring back at him, but he offered him nothing.  
“I’m not sure,” he admitted as he turned back, “how did your exam go?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shook his head, “he didn’t give me anything. But… Ike?”  
“Hmm?” Isaac was looking thoughtful.  
“Please…” Taylor leant over the table again, “don’t pressure Nat into giving her consent to the op.”  
“The op?” Isaac frowned, “you mean removing the tracer?”  
“I mean removing the tracer,” Taylor’s gaze didn’t waver, “I mean losing the use of my arm.”  
“But Tay…” Isaac tried to reason, “what if this is the only piece of evidence we ever get against him?”  
“They have videos,” Taylor insisted, “to prove that you and I were taken. At the very least he’s going away for that. And if I was ever able to contact Nate again… he has evidence up his sleeve too.”


	83. 83

“Nate?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, “you think Nate would hand over evidence that implicates Seth?”  
“Why wouldn’t he?” Taylor frowned, “he hates them just as much as we do.”  
“But it’s Nate,” Isaac was confused.  
“Ike, he’s not evil incarnate,” Taylor scorned, “and he’s in as much trouble with the Creeds as I am. He’s on our side.”  
“Nate’s on his own side,” Isaac didn’t want to argue but the point needed to be made, “he always has been and always will be.”  
“Well right now he’s on my side,” Taylor looked up at Dekker who was pretending not to listen in.  
“You don’t think we are?” Isaac’s brow furrowed.  
“No,” Taylor replied instantly, eyes going back to his brother, “I really don’t.”  
Isaac bit his lip as he tried to think of something to say to convince him otherwise.  
“And… I don’t really expect you to be,” Taylor amended, “I know it must seem like this is going to extremes-“  
“Way, way extreme,” Isaac assured.  
“-But I swear if I could think of another way, I’d do it. Anytime these people hit a bump in the road they just start up again somewhere else. You know that as well as anyone. So does Zac. And maybe the Creeds aren’t where it ends.”  
“What do you mean?” Isaac frowned.  
“There’s what… ten bases that we know of?” Taylor shrugged, “they can’t be the only human traffickers in America. It’s enough of a problem that the public are well aware. Sure the Creeds seem to have their claws into a large enough operation on their own, but… that can’t be all.”  
“You want to go after all the human trafficking rings?” Isaac tried to understand.  
“I’d want to start a campaign at the very least, yes,” Taylor insisted before jumping as Dekker immediately cleared his throat.  
“I think that’s enough for now,” he announced, indicating for Isaac to head for the door.  
Isaac looked back to Taylor regrettably.  
“I’ll try and get back in as soon as I can,” he promised.  
“Thanks,” Taylor started to look worried, “I need the break from Seth.”  
“Seth?” Isaac frowned as he stood.  
“We’re two cells away from each other,” the look didn’t leave his face, “he’s been harassing me.”  
“Dammit,” Isaac cursed, “if Devon were here-“  
“He said he couldn’t do anything,” Taylor shook his head.  
“Isaac,” Dekker insisted.  
“Good luck,” Isaac offered his brother before grudgingly heading for the door.  
“Thanks,” Taylor watched him leave, before once again being closed in the room.  
It wasn’t long before Dekker returned – sans Isaac. Taylor’s cuffs were detached from the table and Dekker silently led him back to the holding cell.  
Taylor purposely kept his eyes away from Seth as he was taken in, soon placed in his cell and having his handcuffs removed.  
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about Devon,” Dekker surprised him by saying before turning away, “I know he was good to you.”  
Taylor watched him leave, before eyeing the guard and turning back into his cell.  
“Running out of friends, are we Taylor?” came Seth’s voice.


	84. 84

By the time Dekker returned to where he’d left Isaac on the other side of the door, Zac had finally joined them. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all the night before and Isaac guessed he probably hadn’t.  
“What’s going on?” Zac frowned as Dekker closed the door behind him.  
“I just spoke to Tay,” Isaac told him.  
“You what?”  
“Sorry I couldn’t explain earlier,” Dekker looked between them, “but as a result of Taylor’s exam this morning the doctor suggested getting one of you to speak with him.”  
“Why? What happened in the exam?” Zac’s eyes darted.  
“The official diagnosis is severe Stockholm Syndrome,” Dekker revealed.  
“I gathered that from the way he was talking,” Isaac scratched his head awkwardly.  
“So he has Stockholm with Nate?” Zac confirmed.  
“Yes,” Dekker nodded, “there’s no real ‘cure’ for it, but obviously the support of family and friends is something he very much needs.”  
“So let me talk to him,” Zac insisted.  
Dekker eyed him for a moment, taking in his red eyes, before shifting a little.  
“What happened last night?” he demanded.  
“I spent the night trying to convince Tay’s wife to sign off on giving us the tracer,” Zac’s eyes narrowed, “just in case he failed today, which apparently he did.”  
“How did you go?” Isaac asked, neglecting to mention Taylor bringing it up.  
“Honestly? I don’t know,” Zac shrugged, “I like to think I made my point.”  
“What else happened last night?” Dekker pressed, not taking his eyes from Zac.  
“What do you mean?” Zac frowned.  
When Dekker didn’t respond, Isaac looked between them. It didn’t take a long stare down before Zac began to look sheepish and ducked his head a little.  
“And I heard from Fowler again,” he admitted.  
“You what?” Isaac was taken aback.  
“When?” Dekker demanded.  
“It’s already been reported, and they couldn’t trace him any further than last time,” Zac brushed off, “but he’s moved. The call didn’t come from Alaska this time.”  
“Then where did it come from?” Isaac frowned.  
Zac hesitated, as if not wanting to answer.  
“Minnesota,” he revealed.  
“He’s on his way here,” Isaac’s eyes darted.  
“Who did you go through?” Dekker asked, pulling out his radio.  
“Jenkins was on it,” Zac watched him, “he told Andrews straight away.”  
Dekker nodded before taking off down the hallway as he placed a call.  
“Hey!” Zac called after him, “what about Tay?!”  
Dekker waved him off and kept going. Zac turned his attention to Isaac.  
“So what happened?” he demanded.  
“I’m gonna ask you the same thing,” Isaac pointed out.  
“Nothing happened, it was the same taunting bullshit as last time,” Zac insisted, “now tell me what happened with Tay.”


	85. 85

Taylor felt as if he hadn’t slept at all when the lights suddenly came on again. It had been a long day in interrogation, half of which was again spent with Dekker and Dr Perkins. He’d asked a lot of the same questions, Taylor guessed in order to see if his story had changed at all. It had been tiring to say the least to just sit and talk practically all day long, but Seth had been surprisingly quiet once he’d been returned to his cell so he’d been able to go to bed just as soon as they’d been fed their last meal for the day.  
Now he was awake again. He managed to tiredly squeeze his eyes open, and when he realised the supervising soldier was making his way to his cell he pushed himself up on the bed.  
“Hands here,” the soldier instructed, patting the gap again.  
Taylor groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, wondering what the doctor could possibly want now. He made his way to the door and slid his hands through, frowning when he registered the use of flexi cuffs instead of the usual metallic handcuffs.  
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking up for the first time.  
When he saw Seth standing barely a few feet away he suddenly flinched backward. His movement didn’t deter the guard from unlocking the door.  
“What’s going on?!” he repeated louder.  
“We would appreciate you keeping your voice down,” Seth scorned.  
Taylor’s eyes darted up to the security cameras. The operational light proved they were still functional.  
“They’re already on a loop,” Seth assured as the door to Taylor’s cell opened, “as long as you stay quiet, we shouldn’t have any problems on the way out.”  
“What would possibly make you think I would go with you?!” Taylor demanded incredulously, backing against the bed as the guard stepped inside.  
He had no doubts as to the legitimacy of Seth’s escape plan.  
“Would you rather I have him snap your neck and leave you here?” Seth ducked his head around the corner, “because that’s entirely a possibility.”  
Taylor eyed the guard who was just staring at him expressionless. Taking a moment to twist the cuffs on his wrists he closed his eyes to think.  
Nate’s final order echoed in his head. He had to get away from the military any chance he got.  
This was a chance. Albeit an undesirable one. And yet he couldn’t think of any other chance he’d have to evade them and possibly get to finish his and Nate’s work.  
“I’ll go with you,” he decided, looking up at Seth again and already regretting it, “without a fight.”  
“Good boy. Knew I could count on you,” Seth gave him a wink before beckoning.  
Taylor eyed the guard again as he stepped past and out of the cell. Seth made to grab his arm but Taylor flinched away.  
“Steady,” Seth insisted, taking his arm regardless.  
“This way,” the guard indicated through the door.  
They were led to a back entrance, presumably where Seth had been brought through originally. They surprisingly didn’t see anyone on the way but Taylor had no idea of what time of night it was.  
They were greeted with a van that looked ready for a normal prisoner transfer. A driver was sitting inside waiting, who didn’t move as the three entered the back before the guard closed the door.  
“That was easier than expected,” Seth mused as the van started.  
“We’re not in the clear yet,” the guard warned, keeping an eye out the back window.


	86. 86

When they were a few miles down the road – and clear of the Pentagon at least – Seth hit the divider.  
“You got anything in here to keep our guest from running away from us?!” he called out.  
Taylor held back a roll of his eyes. He knew he’d done it before so the worry was founded, but he wasn’t about to leap from a moving vehicle when they were presumably taking him straight to Connor.  
…And hopefully Nate, if he was doing what Taylor had asked him to.  
“There’s a duffel in there. That’s all we have,” the driver called back – Taylor frowning as he recognised the man’s voice.  
The guard in the back soon found it, and after opening the zipper pulled out a mess of white cloth and strapping.  
“What is it? A straightjacket?” Seth frowned, leaning forward.  
“I’m not wearing a straightjacket,” Taylor insisted straight away, the memories of Krüger’s fresh in his mind.  
“It’s not,” the guard assured as he pulled the rest out, “it’s full-bodied.”  
Taylor’s brow furrowed as Seth grunted.  
“You sure you have nothing else?!” he called back to the driver.  
“Couldn’t bring in anything metal,” came his response, “that was the only thing left.”  
“Looks like we’re using it,” Seth mused to the guard before he started laying it out in the back of the van.  
“I am not wearing that,” Taylor’s eyes ran down the length of it, “and I _will_ fight you on this.”  
“Taylor,” Seth sighed as he addressed him while the guard undid some of the strapping, “I know that you and I have never gotten along. Maybe it’s because I gave you too much leeway when we first met…”  
Taylor scoffed at that.  
“But rest assured I don’t care any more now about your wants than I did back then. Though you say you are coming with us willingly, you’ll forgive me if we don’t quite trust your word.”  
Taylor’s eyes narrowed as the guard looked up expectantly.  
“Now lay down,” Seth ordered.  
“How is this going to work?” Taylor asked, “you’re going to have to undo it to get me out of here anyway.”  
“We have a long drive ahead. I don’t want to spend the entire trip worried that you’re working out ways to snap my neck,” Seth insisted, “now _lay down_!”  
Seth took hold of his shoulder and pushed him forward so that he fell from the seat to his knees. Not expecting the shove he fell forward onto his hands as the van rounded a corner, making it easy for the guard to grab the back of his shirt and push him down.  
Unable to use his arms to defend himself because his weight was on them, the guard quickly began to tighten the strapping around his ankles and calves.  
“Dammit,” Taylor clenched his teeth as he tried to roll over.  
He knew he wasn’t going anywhere, but he still didn’t have to make it easy for them.   
His legs were soon secured, and Seth bent down to help when the guard had to cut the cuffs free. Taylor had been biding his time to use his arms to fight, but when they each took hold of one with a death grip they soon ended up in the sleeves without more than a few disgruntled groans.


	87. 87

Zac groaned as he and Kate were abruptly awoken to a knock at his door. Knowing it wouldn’t be anything but important, he quickly got up to answer it as Kate rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.  
He was surprised to find Haddon.  
“Shouldn’t you be in the control room?” Zac rubbed his eyes tiredly.  
“Tay’s gone. I thought you should know,” Haddon spat out.  
Zac took a long moment of silence to register what he’d said.  
“Gone?” his eyebrows rose, immediately thinking the worst.  
“Seth escaped last night. Tonight. And he’s taken him,” Haddon fired off, looking back down the corridor.  
Zac paused to change his thought process from Taylor being dead to having escaped.  
“Oh is that all?” was all he managed as he rubbed his eyes again, “how the hell…?”  
“I don’t know specifics, all I know is that the jail is empty,” Haddon assured, “do me a favour and go tell Ike. I need to get back to HQ.”  
“Okay,” Zac nodded before Haddon took off.  
He hesitated, wondering if he should go back in and get dressed, but figured most of the guys around at this hour had seen him in his pyjamas anyhow. It was just before 2am.  
With a sigh he closed the door behind him and moved down the corridor to Isaac’s door. Wondering what he was going to say, he knocked gently.  
It took a while for Isaac to answer, looking just as groggy as his younger brother.  
“What’s going on?” he frowned, taking in Zac’s state.  
“Get dressed and meet us down at interrogation,” Zac was finally starting to wake up, “Tay’s gone.”  
“Gone?” Isaac blinked, “gone how?”  
“Seth’s taken him,” Zac didn’t look anything but mildly annoyed at this point.  
Isaac nodded.  
“Be right there,” he promised before closing the door.  
Zac sighed to himself before heading back to his own room to take his own advice and get changed. The two of them soon caught up with Haddon back in the wired-up interrogation room. Dekker was already there, looking worse for wear, along with Jenkins and a soldier they only recognised from video – Carter.  
“So what happened?” Zac demanded, folding his arms over his chest as he felt the cold in the room.  
“We’re still trying to figure it out,” Jenkins assured from behind the laptop.  
“Did he say anything to you about this?” Dekker demanded, eyes on Isaac.  
“You were there with me, did you hear anything?” Isaac frowned in return.  
“No, this was all Seth,” Carter leant forward onto the desk, his eyes on screen, “they even looped the visuals like they did when they picked Taylor up last time. It’s the same M-O.”  
“So we don’t have eyes anywhere,” Haddon looked between them all.  
“Not until the road,” Jenkins brought up some video footage from the gates and surrounding highways, “three vehicles signed out between lights out and 1am. Two vans and a car. Both the car and one of the vans were stopped and identified a half hour ago, the third is still AWOL.”  
“How did they just drive out of the Pentagon?” Zac looked incredulous.  
“If they had all the right paperwork…” Jenkins shrugged, “it’s safe to say they had people on the inside. And I think we’re looking at more than just their night guard now.”


	88. 88

“Where are we going?” Taylor asked, trying not to look up at Seth from where he was.  
“Shut up before I gag you,” Seth responded calmly, a lot happier now that his charge was incapacitated.  
Taylor closed his eyes as he tried to pull on his arms again. They had to be heading for Connor’s last base. Surely there was nowhere else to go at this point.  
The suit wasn’t as tight as Krüger’s had been but he’d taken barely the first hour to be sure he wouldn’t be getting out of it without help.  
“We should be almost there,” the guard in the back offered.  
“I thought we were changing cars?” Seth frowned.  
“Soon,” the guard nodded, “when we get closer.”  
“We’re wasting time,” Seth insisted, “get the car to meet us further away.”  
“Yes Sir,” the guard nodded, pulling out a cell phone and placing a call.  
Taylor kept his eyes closed as he tried to hear who was on the other end of the line. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the guard soon organised for a car to meet them on the road.  
It was at least another half hour of travel time before they met the car and the guard opened the back doors of the van for the first time. Seth groaned appreciatively as he stepped out into the early morning air, the time now being somewhere around 3:30am.  
“Seth,” Taylor tried to look up as he heard another familiar voice, “it’s good to see you. And in record time too.”  
Taylor barely managed to roll himself onto his side, kicking his bound legs out so that he could push himself up to see out the door. It didn’t do much good as all he could see was Seth’s back.  
“Not fast enough as far as I’m concerned,” was Seth’s retort, “can we be on our way?”  
“Sure,” came the reply before Taylor heard footsteps moving around to the front of the van.  
He saw Seth disappear as he followed, three clear gunshots soon filling the night. Taylor couldn’t help but gulp slightly, wondering who’d gone down.  
“Let’s go,” the second voice insisted.  
“Wait,” Seth insisted, “we have some precious cargo.”  
Taylor watched the door as he heard their footsteps return to the back of the van. Seth appeared again, flanked by a guard Taylor remembered from one of the bases. He wasn’t sure which one anymore, they’d all begun to meld together.  
“Seriously?” his eyebrows rose as he looked to Seth.  
“This is Taylor Hanson,” Seth said smugly, “he’s the little bastard who killed Ryan.”  
The new guard hesitated, staring down at him. Taylor couldn’t do anything but stare back.  
“Fine,” he relented, “we’ll get him in the back.”  
Seth came forward and grabbed for Taylor’s ankles, using the straps to drag him forward so he could easily reach to undo the bottom two.  
“What are you doing with him?” the guard asked as Taylor’s head hit the floor again with a grunt.  
“He was detained at the Pentagon, where I was,” Seth replied, moving the cloth away from Taylor’s feet before reaching over to grab the front where his arms were crossed in order to pull him up.  
As Seth pushed him aside the van, he stumbled until he eyed the car that had come to retrieve them. Parked beside the van with only three bodies separating them, was Krüger’s black Mercedes.  
“You were Krüger’s driver,” he realised, staring again at the guard.  
“Get in,” Seth gave him another shove.


	89. 89

“Who else would possibly be in on it?” Zac said, quiet enough that Isaac almost didn’t hear standing next to him.  
“Are you thinking someone in this room?” Isaac asked just as quiet.  
“I don’t know,” Zac frowned, looking between them, “it’s obviously not Haddon or Dekker.”  
“Does the van have a low jack?” Isaac suddenly though to ask.  
“It does,” Jenkins confirmed, “we’re just having trouble zooming in.”  
“Which means the van was compromised early,” Dekker reasoned.  
“Before it was brought here last night at least,” Carter agreed.  
“It’s never easy,” Isaac sighed, folding his arms.  
“Maybe it’s not someone directly involved in the case,” Zac picked up where he left off, “they wouldn’t want to get too close to us, right? In case they were found out?”  
“I don’t know about that,” Isaac held back a smirk, “there’s always Davison.”  
“Davison?” Dekker looked over his shoulder, catching the name.  
“Just an example of how close a mole can get without you knowing,” Isaac shrugged.  
“Fredric Davison?” Carter looked to Dekker, “the dude that died in prison?”  
“What?” Zac stepped forward.  
“He’s dead?” Isaac frowned, “no one told us he was dead!”  
“It was a month or so ago,” Dekker replied absently, paying more attention to the screen, “he somehow got hold of a suicide pill.”  
“Suicide?” Zac shot Isaac a look, “that doesn’t sound like Davison to me.”  
“No,” Isaac shook his head, “were there signs of a struggle? Did he put up a fight?”  
“No one cared,” Carter shrugged, “from what I heard anyway. Perps die in prison all the time for things like that.”  
“And considering the Creed involvement and how easily they managed to get into ADMAX, no one thought to check it out?” Zac looked between them incredulously.  
“I wouldn’t say it was ‘easy’…” Jenkins considered.  
“I think we have more important things to focus on right now,” Dekker pointed out, “like finding your brother.”  
Zac grit his teeth at that. Dekker knew they wouldn’t argue the point.  
“Highway cams show the van heading north,” Jenkins offered after an awkward but short silence, “if I didn’t know better I’d say they were headed back for Salamanca.”  
“You guys did finally find Connor’s base, right?” Isaac checked.  
“We did, but no one was home,” Haddon bit his lip.  
“So we’re back to the drawing board on their bases. Other than the ones Taylor found of course,” Jenkins added, “they could be going anywhere.”  
“Again,” Zac held back a groan.  
“We’ll keep the feeds alive. Follow the van as far as you can,” Dekker ordered as he took a step back, “I’ll go and brief Andrews on this one.”  
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate the early wakeup call,” Carter smirked.  
“He always does,” Dekker grunted before leaving the room.  
“You boys okay?” Haddon stepped over to them.  
“Fine,” Isaac replied sarcastically.  
“They have to be running out of places to go,” Zac insisted, “maybe Tay really is finishing it off.”


	90. 90

Taylor kept Seth in his peripheral for the entire drive which was thankfully a short one. He couldn’t see through the windows of the Mercedes to see where they’d come to, but he registered the driver slow a couple of times as he presumably made his way through gates.  
When they pulled to a halt Seth again went to undo the strapping around his calves and ankles. The driver got out to help him, and Taylor was soon dragged out through the back door and to his feet.  
When he looked up at the building he found it similar more to the one in Oxford. It was a single storey brick building, but spread widely to each side. There were no guards to greet them and Taylor idly mused that maybe they were running out of people to use.  
The driver grabbed him roughly by the back of the suit and pushed him forward, leading him through the main doors and into a similar foyer. The foyer was also deserted.  
“Where is he?” Seth asked, walking in behind them.  
The driver didn’t respond, just pulled Taylor to the left and through another corridor of cells. These ones had larger Perspex windows, and they were all empty aside from random bloodstains.  
Taylor had a bad feeling that he knew the ‘he’ Seth had been referring to, and when they reached the next open space he had his suspicion confirmed.  
“Taylor,” Connor beamed upon sight of him, flanked by two more men.  
Taylor shot a glance over his shoulder at where Seth had followed and closed the door behind him. They appeared to be in a space possibly used for training. The floor was freezing concrete and there were holes in the ceiling where remnants of overnight rain were still dripping through.  
“How good to see you again so soon,” Taylor’s eyes shot back to Connor as he approached.  
The driver held him firm as Connor snaked his hand under Taylor’s jaw in an effort to be sincere.  
“For such a short passage of time we certainly have a lot to catch up on,” he smiled.  
“No hurry, right?” Taylor couldn’t stop his voice shaking.  
Connor abruptly slapped him, forcing his head to the right with a grunt.  
“Don’t forget our rules so quickly,” he insisted as he took a step back and indicated for the two men who’d been with him to come forward.  
“Get that silly thing off him and hold his arms out. We don’t want him going for any concealed weapons he might have hidden anywhere.”  
“He’s fresh from a holding cell at the Pentagon, he won’t have anything on him,” Seth assured as they began to do as asked.  
“I’m not taking the chance,” Connor glared at his younger brother.  
Taylor watched what they were doing as the two men went about undoing the straps down the front of the suit, leaving his arms for last.   
“Were our little insurance policies taken care of?” Connor stepped over to Seth to ask.  
“DOA,” Seth assured, “the two soldiers and young Jake.”  
Taylor’s head shot up. Jake had been one of the bodies on the road?  
“Good,” Connor nodded, “that solves one issue.”  
Taylor felt his arms suddenly release, the two men each taking a death grip on one of them similar to what Seth and the soldier had earlier. Once they had the suit away they remained holding them out.  
Taylor shook hair from his eyes as he pulled against them, Connor coming back to see him.  
“Do you know what I’m going to do first?” he asked placidly as Taylor’s eyes fell to the dagger he was caressing, “I think I’m going to sever your spinal cord. To ensure that you never leave me again.”  
Taylor grimaced as he pulled on his arms, only starting to panic when Connor stepped to the side.


	91. 91

“Don’t, don’t!” Taylor exclaimed, trying to see Connor over his shoulder.  
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t,” Connor tested, “when I fully plan to kill you in the end anyhow.”  
“What if you decide not to?!” Taylor’s eyes darted desperately, “what if you want to use me against Nate?!”  
“The best way to use you against Nate, I’ve found, would be to kill you,” Connor reasoned as he lifted the back of Taylor’s shirt and trailed the blade down his scarred spine, “he does seem more than intent on keeping you very much alive.”  
Taylor looked to Seth who offered nothing more than a shrug.  
“But I guess it would be a pain to have to carry you everywhere,” Connor said thoughtfully, giving Taylor an immediate sliver of hope before he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his lower back.  
The pain was so intense that Taylor couldn’t even cry out. He felt his knees buckle from under him, though the men held his arms firm as he went down.   
“And we can’t have that,” Connor mused, “let him down. He won’t be fighting back for a while.”  
Taylor felt them let him go, and all he could do was fall forward to the floor. It took him some time before he was able to move, but the first thing he did was reach back to feel where the wound was.  
“I have heard the kidney is the most painful of the organs when penetrated,” Connor said almost conversationally as he stepped around to Taylor’s head, “of course never experienced it for myself, but tests so far seem to prove accurate.”  
Taylor wished he could offer to prove it to him personally.   
“What’s the Nate situation?” Seth changed the subject as Taylor tried to arch his back.  
“I was hoping Taylor could shed some light on that for us,” Connor settled into a crouch just in front of him.  
Too preoccupied with trying to quell the pain in his back, Taylor couldn’t resist as Connor lifted him a little by the hair.  
“You’ll tell us where Nathan is, won’t you?” he smiled down at him.  
Taylor had to cough before he could reply, ridding himself of the lump that had formed in his throat.  
“I’m not telling you anything,” he said between his teeth.  
“Oh I’m sure you will,” Connor assured before dropping him and standing up, “all in due time of course.”  
Taylor groaned now that he’d found his voice again and struggled to push his legs up. When he was finally able to get some strength back into his arms he managed to push himself up into a sit.  
“I’m sure he’s not far away,” Seth eyed his brother, “he’s never far from this one, that’s for certain.”  
“So I’ve noticed,” Connor agreed, “he shouldn’t be harder to find than last time.”  
He looked down at Taylor before aiming a kick at his exposed right side. Taylor cried out as the pain shot through him again from the wound in his back.  
“Take him into the back room, I have a chair there for him,” Connor ordered.  
The two came forward and again took Taylor by the arms, pulling him to his feet with a groan. Taylor could see blood on the floor as he looked back before being taken through a far doorway.  
The room was about the size of the Pentagon’s interrogation rooms and a single chair sat bolted to the centre of the floor. Chains had been discarded to the side and once he’d been forced to take a seat he felt them being wrapped around his wrists and locked to the back.  
Connor and Seth soon followed them in, without the driver. Connor nodded for the men to leave.


	92. 92

Taylor was already beginning to see stars in front of his eyes, and feeling the blood running down his back was making him wonder if he’d be conscious for much longer.  
If he could fall into another blood-pressure-induced coma it would certainly solve some of his problems.  
“It looks nasty,” Seth grimaced, “do you have any medicals on staff?”  
“I do,” Connor assured, “but I need some answers before he passes out altogether.”  
“I’m not telling you anything,” Taylor reiterated, trying to keep his back straight.  
“I think you’ll find you’re very much mistaken,” Connor assured as Seth made his way to the chair.  
Taylor kept his eye on the younger Creed as he took him by the hair. Connor came forward with the dagger.  
“We can skip ahead, past all the pain and… mess, if you’ll just tell me where Nathan is,” he said.  
“I don’t know where he is,” Taylor insisted.  
Connor smirked as he stared at him a moment, before leaning forward and digging about two inches of the dagger into Taylor’s right thigh. Before Taylor could yell out Seth pulled him into a headlock and covered his mouth, muffling the sound.  
“Just to help you take your mind off your kidney,” Connor assured, stepping to the side.  
Taylor squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily. Seth wasn’t interested in letting him go just yet.  
When he opened them again Connor had retrieved a thin exercise book from a nearby shelf and had opened it as he began to pace.  
“Something you may not know, Taylor,” he began as if he were a professor talking to a college student, “is that Krüger was a very structured man. He kept very detailed logs of all of his encounters, which were to be used if there ever arose a problem with one of his charges.”  
He paused to look across at him.  
“I must say that your journal in particular is a very interesting read,” he assured.  
He thumbed through a few of the pages before clearing his throat.  
“While this subject has often been quite forthcoming in his training, he often shows an erratic or spontaneous need to be heard or to defy orders. Nothing clears this up quite so quickly as the help of my good friend… electricity.”  
Seth struggled to hold Taylor for a moment as he tried to push himself back. Both the chains and Seth held him firm, the dagger still lodged in his thigh making it hard alone.  
Connor – pleased with his reaction – set the journal aside before selecting a black rod. When he tested it Taylor could see the sparks connecting in the end.  
“Now I’m going to ask you again,” Connor stepped forward with it, “where is Nathan?”  
Before Seth could take his hand away from Taylor’s mouth, Connor set the prod onto Taylor’s other thigh. Once again his cries were muffled before Seth finally let go.  
“I don’t know where he is!” Taylor panted, “he never told me where he was going!”  
“I don’t believe you,” Connor gave a look of pity before setting the prod on him again.  
Taylor clenched his fists as the shock ran through him, barely able to catch his breath when it was over.  
“I swear,” his voice broke as he panted heavier, “I told him to finish you off. He should have been here already.”  
Connor looked to Seth curiously.  
“I don’t know,” Seth shrugged, “he didn’t say anything to me.”


	93. 93

Taylor jumped as the prod went off just inches from his face. Seth had hold of his hair again to keep him close.  
“You’d better be telling me the truth now,” Connor insisted, leaning in to him.  
“I didn’t know where any of the bases were,” Taylor insisted, trying to close his eyes but not trusting Connor enough, “Nate said there was only one left. That’s where I told him to go. If that’s where we are, he should have been here. I swear I don’t know where he is. We couldn’t talk before the army grabbed me.”  
He jumped again as Connor set the prod off a second time.  
“Okay,” he finally relented.  
He gave Seth a nod before returning the rod to the shelf, Seth letting go of Taylor’s hair. That done he came back to retrieve his dagger.  
Taylor yelled out as it was wrenched from his thigh, a bloodstain starting to pool on his jeans.  
“I’ll go and retrieve the medics,” Connor promised, before going to open the door.  
Seth took hold of Taylor’s hair once again, using it to tilt his head back and check his pupils.  
“Try and stay awake for this, won’t you?” he said to him, “I’d prefer you to feel everything.”  
Taylor grimaced as Seth finally let him go, moving to stand in the doorway to wait. Taylor used the distraction to quickly feel the chains out, already feeling that they were too tight but trying to work out what kind of padlock they’d used.  
It was definitely one he could pick. If he’d had anything to do it with.  
Feeling his eyes getting heavy he tried taking deep breaths to keep himself conscious. He managed to hear Seth talking to someone outside the door, but he couldn’t make out anything said before he finally passed out.

*

“The van stopped just west of Jasper on the 417,” Jenkins announced.  
“What for?” Isaac looked to the screen.  
“Yeah, that’s the middle of nowhere,” Zac frowned, “why are they…?”  
“They’ve swapped cars,” Haddon yawned.  
“Haddon, go get some sleep,” Jenkins insisted.  
“Can we get an ID on the car?” Zac walked closer to the screen.  
“It’s still pitch black, I’m just going to have to follow the lights and see how I go,” Jenkins shrugged, “Haddon-“  
“I know, I know,” Haddon relented, if reluctantly.  
“Goodnight Haddon,” Isaac offered.  
Haddon gave them a wave as he left the room.  
“The highway seems deserted enough,” Zac reasoned, “it shouldn’t be too hard, right?”  
They watched as the car drove off, leaving the van on the side of the road. Jenkins immediately put in a call.  
“Get the Jasper, NY PD out to the 417. Have them detain a prisoner transfer van parked off the highway. It should be in easy sight,” he said into his headset.  
He waited for confirmation before getting back to the screen.  
“It almost seems too easy,” Isaac shook his head, “the Creeds never make it easy.”  
“We haven’t found them yet,” Jenkins assured.  
“But we damn well will,” Zac muttered.


	94. 94

“Will he wake up again? Or have I gone too far?”  
Connor’s voice was the first thing Taylor heard.  
“He’s coming around now,” an unknown voice said as Taylor felt a hand gently take the right side of his jaw.  
“Oh goodie,” Taylor managed to squeeze his eyes open in time to see Connor’s grin.  
He gulped slightly, quickly registering that he was still in the same room. Still on the same chair. A man he didn’t recognise was knelt to his side, and he was the one holding his head.  
“Are you awake?” he asked him, slight concern in his voice.  
“Yeah,” Taylor croaked out, soon feeling the chains still around his wrists.  
The man pulled his hand away and let Taylor drop his head as he shifted slightly to look behind him.  
While he was distracted Taylor closed his eyes again, prompting Connor to step forward and take his chin.  
“No, no,” he insisted, lifting it so Taylor had to look up at him, “we can’t have you falling asleep. You may never wake up again.”  
“And that would be a problem why?” Taylor’s brow furrowed as Connor let him go.  
He barely saw Connor frown before he was distracted by another sharp pain in his back. Whatever the man was doing behind him, he was focused on the wound and didn’t seem to care how much it hurt.  
“Have we turned another corner now, Taylor?” Connor caught his attention again, “last time I had the pleasure of your company you were so very desperate to stay alive.”  
“I long ago resigned myself to die in chains,” Taylor shook his head as Seth suddenly reappeared in the room, “I just know more now than I did back then.”  
“Oh really?” Seth’s eyebrows rose, having caught the last statement.  
Connor smirked and stepped forward, leaning over him with one hand resting on the back of the chair.  
“And what is it that you know now?” he mused, staring him in the eye.  
“I know Nate,” Taylor assured, not as intimidated as he may have been in the past, “and I know that _if_ you kill me, he’s going to do whatever you’ve done to me tenfold. He’s going to avenge me.”  
“Is that so?” Connor tilted his head slightly.  
“I have complete and utter faith in him,” Taylor assured, “and I know he’ll carry out my dying wish too.”  
“And what was that?” Seth asked, honestly curious, “how is he gonna know what it is?”  
“The last thing I said to him,” Taylor looked across at Seth before returning his eyes to Connor, “he’s going to kill all of you.”  
Connor broke into a chuckle before leaning in closer. Taylor grimaced at the warm breath on his cheek.  
“And what makes you think we don’t already have Nate in custody?” he taunted.  
“You wouldn’t have been able to help yourself,” Taylor grit his teeth, “you would have had to brag about it before now.”  
He jumped as Connor suddenly grabbed his hair, holding his head back.  
“You certainly think you know a lot about us,” he mused.  
“I know enough,” Taylor insisted, noting that he’d changed the subject.


	95. 95

Taylor grimaced as Connor pulled his head to the side before letting his hair go.  
“And still, ever the conversationalist,” he scoffed, giving Seth a nod.  
Seth sneered a little at being treated like a common guard, but regardless stepped forward and gagged Taylor with the usual black cloth. Taylor grunted as the medic continued his work, another bolt of pain hitting him as Seth finished up.  
“How does it fare, doctor?” Connor stepped to Taylor’s left, looking down at the man behind him.  
“I think I’ve done what I can,” the man sighed, before having slight trouble getting to his feet.  
He walked around to face Connor instead.  
“It isn’t much, and without dialysis kidney failure is imminent.”  
“How long?” Connor’s eyes narrowed.  
“At best…?” the man gave Taylor an awkward glance.  
Taylor had Seth in his peripheral and was barely paying attention.  
“Two days at most. I’d say one most likely. He will fall unconscious and not wake up well before that time though.”  
“Thank you,” Connor nodded with a smile, “you may take your leave.”  
The man hurriedly packed up his things and left the room, once again leaving Taylor alone with Connor and Seth.  
“You’re going to let him die?” Seth actually sounded surprised.  
“That was the plan, wasn’t it?” Connor eyed his brother as he returned to the shelves and retrieved the cattle prod, “now tell me… how did you make that last video for Nathan?”  
Taylor’s eyes shot between Seth and the cattle prod. He was sure the two day estimate had to be an exaggeration – he sure didn’t feel that sick. Fatigued, yes, but not deathly sick. Not like he had on Le Boucher’s table.   
But Connor very much looked like he wanted to help the process along.  
“A camera phone, it belonged to Jerry,” Seth had obvious anger in his voice, “we’d still have it if you hadn’t killed him.”  
“Consider it housekeeping,” Connor gave him a smirk, “never mind. All these smartphones these days have a video camera.”  
He pulled his own from his pocket.  
“Go and fetch young Jack for me, he should be just outside,” he indicated the door.  
“You’re going to try and reel Nate in again?” Seth’s eyebrows rose, but he went to the door all the same, “it didn’t really work last time, and I did a fair amount of damage.”  
Taylor squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his foot burn again from the memory alone.  
“Oh but it did work,” Connor assured, “you just weren’t around to see it.”  
“JACK?! Get in here!” Seth yelled from the door.  
Taylor looked up again as he heard the younger man’s footsteps, momentarily making awkward eye contact with him before Connor caught his attention.  
“Command this,” Connor handed him the phone, “I’d like to make a video, which we will then send onward to our dear friend Nathan.”  
Jack tried to hide his confusion, quickly working out the camera on the phone as asked. As Jack worked Connor set his sights on Taylor and began teasing him with the prod just inches from his leg.  
“If you do too much damage he could die on the spot, don’t forget,” Seth felt the need to warn.  
“Hmm,” Connor considered, looking the rod over, “perhaps we should employ something else then.”


	96. 96

Taylor flinched as the blowtorch fired up just a few feet away.  
“Don’t worry,” Seth assured, putting a hand on his shoulder, “he knows what he’s doing.”  
Jack was watching Connor warily, unsure if he should be filming already or not. Connor ignored all three of them as he began to heat the end of a branding iron.  
“If you’re at all worried about the scarring, don’t be,” Connor kept his focus on the torch though it was obvious he was talking to Taylor, “the chances of the wounds healing in time are as fair as the likelihood of your body ever being found. No one will have to see them.”  
Taylor’s brow furrowed and he looked to Seth. Seth had his eye on the torch with a disgruntled look.  
Before he could turn back Connor set the iron onto his left thigh. The gag did little to hold back the yell Taylor came out with, so Seth took hold of him again and slapped his hand back over his mouth.  
Struggling to breathe through his nose only, Taylor made sure to keep his eyes open and on Connor.  
“Just testing,” Connor assured, before making sure Jack knew he wasn’t in trouble for not catching the attack.  
He set the blowtorch going on the iron again, making it glow a nicely bright orange.  
“Take the camera around to his back and record his injury,” Connor instructed absently, “we may as well give Nathan the whole story.”  
Jack timidly obeyed, making sure not to get in Seth’s way as he stepped around to Taylor’s back. Seth let him go so that Jack could get a better view as Taylor still struggled to catch his breath.  
“Are you recording yet Jack?” Connor asked, eyes on Seth’s protégé.  
He smiled at Jack’s subsequent nod before indicating for him to lift the camera view.  
“Nathan…” he addressed it, “it appears our dear Taylor here is running out of time. Therefore my brother and I felt it only appropriate to let you share with us his final moments.”  
Taylor’s eyes glued to Connor, sure that he was bluffing regardless of the stars returning to his vision.  
“Despite our many differences and without using the old axiom of ‘finders keepers’…” he began toward Taylor, making him try and lean backward again.  
Seth noticed and quickly pulled him into another headlock. He cried out a little, more at the shock of being suddenly grabbed.  
“…I will point out that he was claimed long ago,” Connor indicated for Jack to bring the camera around as he pulled up the front of Taylor’s shirt to show his carving.  
Taylor saw Jack frown when he lay eyes on it, quickly darting a look at him before Connor straightened Taylor’s shirt again.  
“Therefore it is only right that I be here rather than you,” Connor addressed the camera before returning to the blowtorch.  
He fired it up again, reheating the iron. Taylor groaned as he registered what was coming, closing his eyes for a moment. Jack kept the camera trained on Connor as he finished what he was doing before returning to Taylor’s side.  
Taylor opened his eyes in time for Connor to lift his shirt again and place the iron to the right of the wound. Taylor once again yelled out loud enough for Seth to warrant covering his mouth, trying to curl his body in while also trying to use his left leg to kick out at Connor.  
Connor simply chuckled as he backed away, sitting the poker in a nearby bucket of water and watching as the steam rose.  
Seth only let Taylor go again when he was sure he wasn’t going to make more noise.


	97. 97

Taylor ducked his head as Connor suddenly and unexpectedly threw the bucket of water over him.  
“What the heck are you doing?!” Seth scorned in a raised voice, backing away from the splash and shaking his hands out.  
When he’d recovered from the initial shock of the cold Taylor shook his hair out, splashing the water even further.  
“Yuck,” Seth grimaced, trying to brush his coat off.  
“It’s just water,” Connor scorned, setting the bucket aside and going to retrieve the cattle prod, “rainwater, even.”  
Taylor’s eyes widened when he saw what he was doing.  
“Which of course happens to be a great conductor for electricity.”  
Seth’s face fell and he instantly stepped aside. Jack watched on worriedly as Taylor squeezed his eyes shut and began praying that his heart would give out quickly.  
He heard the zap as Connor tested the prod again, before hearing footsteps approaching the open doorway.  
“Connor!” came the voice of the guard who’d picked him up.  
“We’re busy,” Connor almost growled.  
“Fowler’s here.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot open again in time to see the surprised look on Connor’s face. He quickly told Jack to stop filming before setting the prod aside.  
“Here?” he confirmed, “what is he doing _here_?”  
“He’s obviously not happy with the service,” Seth quipped, straightening his jacket before stepping out of the room.  
“Just what I need,” Connor muttered, reaching out for his phone.  
Jack handed it over, if a little reluctantly.  
“Now, I am aware that Taylor isn’t exactly your favourite person in the world,” Connor said to him with a quick indication of his shoulder, “but I need you to keep an eye on him for me. Can you do that?”  
Jack nodded, giving Taylor a wary glance.  
Connor barely had a chance to leave the room before Taylor heard him stop just outside the door.  
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” he heard a gruff voice.  
His eyes shot to Jack when he moved, hoping their previous somewhat of a truce was still in play. Jack simply stepped forward a little so that he could see what was going on outside.  
“No, no it’s alright,” Connor assured, “just a little… time-sensitive work.”  
“I’m sorry I won’t keep you,” the other voice assured, “I’d just like to know what’s happening about the retrieval of young Zachary Hanson.”  
Taylor closed his eyes and groaned when he heard that.  
“Who do you have in there?”  
Taylor’s eyes shot open when he realised they’d heard him, and he saw a momentary look of panic cross Jack’s face.  
“His brother,” they heard Seth answer for Connor.  
“Is he for sale?”  
“You’ve already asked that,” Seth scorned, “the answer is still no.”  
“I’m afraid he isn’t in good enough condition to be sold,” Connor amended calmly.


	98. 98

“Been having fun have we boys?” Fowler didn’t sound impressed.  
“I’m afraid I have taken it too far, yes,” Connor’s tone matched, “he has possibly one day left.”  
“May I see him?”  
Taylor locked eyes with Jack before the younger man took a step back. Connor had indicated for Fowler to enter the room, and when Taylor first laid eyes on him he was slightly taken aback.  
The way Zac spoke of him, he wasn’t anything like he’d pictured.  
Suddenly conscious of the fact that he didn’t have his breath back yet, he kept his eyes on the short and hairy man as he purposely made his way over to the chair.  
“Well you’re certainly not the eldest, so you must be Taylor,” he mused, standing to the side before taking Taylor’s chin in his hand, “the singer, yes?”  
He studied his face for a moment with a frown.  
“You look different,” he said decidedly.  
“From what?” Connor asked from the doorway.  
Taylor’s brow furrowed when he realised what he’d said, and when he felt the vibe he was getting from the man. This was someone he didn’t want to spend too long in a room with, he knew already.  
Fowler seemed to ignore Connor as he studied Taylor, and Taylor very much began to feel like he was back in the hole with Ramirez sizing him up.   
“It’s interesting…” Fowler mused, “how your eyes are so different from your brother’s.”  
Taylor grit his teeth over the gag and tried to look away.  
“I’ll give you 2.5,” Fowler looked up to Connor.  
“He’s not for sale,” Connor reiterated, “you’d waste 2.5 on less than twenty four hours with him?”  
“I would,” Fowler nodded, “but you’d need to guarantee Zachary’s acquisition.”  
Taylor wanted to point out that there was no way in Hell they’d be able to get hold of Zac again, but knew it’d be pointless.  
“I can,” Connor assured, “but you’re not taking Taylor.”  
“Three,” Fowler counter-offered.  
“No,” Connor’s voice grew stern.  
Taylor’s eyes darted between them as Fowler stood to fight. He quickly felt out the chains again, double and triple checking that he couldn’t get them off.  
“Four,” Fowler sounded reluctant all of a sudden.  
“No,” Connor repeated.  
When Fowler sighed Taylor darted a quick look at Jack. He blanched a little when he realised Jack was watching him fiddle with the chains. Worried for a moment that he was going to bring attention to it, he calmed somewhat when Jack simply turned his attention back to Connor instead.  
“Connor, Seth,” Fowler nodded to each of them in turn, “I’d like to speak with you outside.”  
Connor rolled his eyes as Fowler moved past before focusing on Jack again.  
“This could take some time,” he sighed, leaning over slightly.  
Taylor’s brow furrowed when he picked up the blowtorch, handing it to Jack.  
“Keep him awake, by any means you have to,” Connor instructed, “we don’t need him slipping into a coma. If it happens I will know that it’s not your fault, but I won’t be pleased. Do you understand?”  
Jack nodded assuredly. Connor smiled before moving over to place a hand on Taylor’s forehead.  
“If you do pass before I return, not to worry,” he smiled as his fingers threaded through Taylor’s hair, “I’m sure my brother cannot wait to keep you company on the other side. Wherever you may be.”


	99. 99

As the hours passed and it became evident that Jack wasn’t going to hurt him, Taylor began to feel the extent of his injuries. The wound in his thigh and the burns he could handle, but his back…  
At times he began to feel like vomiting, but he still didn’t think he was finding it as painful as he probably should have been. He began wondering if they’d somehow drugged him while he was out even though he still felt in control of all his faculties.  
All that aside, he couldn’t ignore the shakes that were starting as his body began trying to heal itself.  
It seemed half a lifetime before he finally passed out. When he did finally wake up again, he was surprised that it wasn’t by Jack’s hand.  
Instead he awoke to the sound of the door opening and closing. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he jumped when he saw who it was.  
“Hey,” Kadie looked between the two, Jack getting to his feet from where he’d been sitting on the floor.  
She bee lined for Taylor, quickly checking him over before pulling down the gag.  
“Are you okay?” she asked, not seeing any overly obvious injuries.  
“No,” Taylor frowned, jumping a little as Jack appeared and grabbed Kadie’s arm.  
“What?!” she demanded with a hiss, managing to keep her voice down.  
Jack signed something to her and she turned to Taylor worriedly.  
“What did they do?” she asked, “he said you’re dying.”  
“I am,” Taylor looked between them with a gulp, “they’re expecting kidney failure anytime now.”  
Kadie took a moment to process it before ducking around behind him. Taylor heard her hiss through her teeth when she saw the wound.  
“Kadie you can’t be here,” Taylor insisted with his head turned, “you’ll get caught.”  
“I won’t get caught,” Kadie assured, “I’m here to help you.”  
“Help me?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “you’re too late. You can’t help me.”  
Kadie sighed frustratedly as she stood from inspecting the chains.  
“Key?” she demanded of Jack.  
He shrugged before signing something else. Kadie ignored whatever he’d said as she rushed over to the shelves and began searching through.  
“Kadie, please,” Taylor insisted, “if you’ve somehow figured a way out, you need to leave me behind. Unless I get dialysis – like now – I’m dead anyway.”  
“Nope,” Kadie continued searching, “Nate wouldn’t allow that.”  
“Nate’s not here,” Taylor gulped slightly.  
Kadie turned back and stared at him a moment before continuing her search.  
“He’s here?” Taylor caught on.  
Kadie quickly put a finger to her lips before indicating for Jack to help her. Jack gave the door a nervous glance before starting to search with her.  
Taylor’s eyes darted across the floor. If Nate had made himself known to Kadie, then he had to have a plan in mind already. For the first time since Washington Taylor felt a sliver of hope in his heart.  
“The blowtorch,” he said suddenly.  
“What?” Kadie turned back.  
“There’s a keyring attached to the blowtorch,” Taylor clarified, “I can use it to pick the lock.”  
Kadie ducked over to it and quickly detached the thin ring, bringing it over to him and placing it in his hands. He fumbled for a moment but soon heard the click to signal the padlock opening.


	100. 100

Taylor didn’t realise why Jack had grabbed him at first, but soon found he was having to lean into him all the same.  
“Sorry,” he said as he struggled to find his feet.  
“Can you walk?” Kadie asked worriedly.  
“Just give me a minute,” Taylor winced, having trouble straightening his back.  
“We don’t have a minute,” Kadie glanced back at the door before grabbing the cattle prod from the shelf and slipping under Taylor’s right arm.  
Taylor couldn’t stop a short grunt as moving his arm pulled on his back, but getting the movement over quickly he was soon able to stand.  
Unfortunately as soon as he did he felt a wave of dizziness take over and he stumbled forward a little.  
“Jesus,” Kadie muttered, “Jack I don’t know if we can get him out.”  
“I’ll walk,” Taylor insisted stubbornly, “where’s Nate?”  
“He’s at one of the back doors waiting,” Kadie informed him, “I just have to get you there. Somehow.”  
Taylor stopped to take a deep breath before nodding.  
“Let’s do this,” he nodded, grabbing onto Jack’s shoulder.  
He began forward – now limping more than ever on his right leg – as Kadie quickly reached forward to pull the door open with the hand that held the prod.  
When the door swung open the three froze. Seth had just been reaching for the door handle.  
“Well would you look at that,” his eyebrows rose, impressed.  
Jack took a step back which made Taylor stumble into him. Jack managed to catch him before he went down but Kadie struggled under the weight.  
Seth took two steps inside the door as he looked the three of them over.  
“A little sooner than expected, but expected nonetheless,” Seth rubbed his hands together in a way that exuberated confidence, “now, what to do about-“  
Kadie suddenly lunged forward with the prod, hitting Seth square in the chest before he could react. Taylor fell back into Jack when her support suddenly disbanded, watching with wide eyes as Seth’s face went red and he fell to his knees.  
“Come on!” Kadie came back to his side, rushing to help Jack get Taylor out of the room.  
“But what-?” Taylor looked back as he limped past.  
Seth had fallen down onto his side and was clutching at his chest, making slight choking noises.   
“He’s down for the count, let’s just get you to Nate,” Kadie insisted as they made it out into the open area.  
Taylor expected to see Connor and Fowler out there, but neither were in sight. They could hear voices from down the corridor where Seth had brought him in, but Kadie veered them to the left toward a parallel line of cells.  
About halfway down she indicated for Jack to go into one of the open cells, and once they got Taylor inside he almost jumped out of his skin as he felt someone grab the back of his neck.  
“Nate?!” his brow furrowed when he realised who it was.  
“Are you okay?” Nate asked seriously, taking his weight from Kadie.  
“No,” Taylor felt the lump in his throat again, “Nate I’m dying.”  
Nate looked between Jack and Kadie, taking in the serious looks on their faces.


	101. 101

“Dying? How?” Nate’s eyes searched Taylor’s.  
“My kidney,” Taylor struggled to keep his emotions in check as Jack took the brunt of his weight again, “Connor stabbed me. His doctor or whatever told us it’ll shut down within a day.”  
Nate put a hand on his shoulder to keep him steady before ducking around and lifting the back of his shirt. He frowned when he saw the wound before quickly standing again.  
“What do you want to do?” he asked Taylor seriously, “do you want to stay here and fight?”  
“I can’t fight,” Taylor shook his head, “I can barely stand.”  
“Then what do you want to do?” Nate shrugged, obviously at a loss and struggling not to panic.  
Taylor bit his lip and ducked his head, knowing Nate was asking for any last wishes.  
“I think I want to go home,” he admitted.  
Nate hesitated, but nodded.  
“Okay,” he agreed before turning to Kadie.  
Kadie frowned when he just stared at her for a moment, before he suddenly grabbed her shoulder. In a second he had her in a headlock and had snapped her neck.  
“Nate?!” Taylor hissed, trying to keep his voice down though he’d wanted to yell, “what are you doing?!”  
“She’s a liability,” Nate grunted as he lowered her body to the ground.  
He eyed Jack next, who suddenly dropped Taylor and backed off. Taylor managed to fall back against the wall instead before putting a hand out to Nate.  
“Nate don’t!” he insisted, “you don’t need to kill him, he isn’t going to tell anyone!”  
Nate’s eyes narrowed as he stared Jack down. Jack was staring back in fright, not knowing what to expect.  
“He can’t tell anyone,” Taylor reiterated, “they took his vocal chords.”  
A knowing look crossed Nate’s face before he finally broke gaze and looked to Taylor.  
“One of those, huh?” he said almost simply.  
Taylor breathed a sigh of relief, recognising the switch that had flipped.  
“Nate how do we get out of here?” he tried to change the subject.  
Nate gave Jack another glance before turning and walking to the opposite wall in the cell. He fumbled with what looked like a loose piece of plaster before pulling away a hidden trapdoor about two feet square in size.  
Taylor’s eyes shot to Jack as he came for him again, and Taylor managed to use his shoulder to get himself over to it. The hole led to the outside, and Taylor could see that it was still sometime before sunrise.  
“You’re not coming,” Nate put a hand on Jack’s chest to hold him back as Taylor fell forward to his hands and knees in preparation to crawl through.  
“What?” he looked up with a frown.  
“He’s not coming,” Nate insisted, “like I said, liability. The two of us will get away faster.”  
“Nate I can’t even walk, he can help us,” Taylor scowled, more thinking of what could happen to Jack if he was left behind.  
Without another word, Nate suddenly clocked Jack across the jaw. The single punch knocked him out and he hit the floor hard.  
“Now he can’t,” Nate pointed out, shaking his hand.  
“You’re incredible,” Taylor shook his head disbelievingly before pulling himself out of the hole.


	102. 102

Taylor managed to hold his grunts in as Nate rushed him through another wire fence and to a waiting car.  
“How long until they realise you’re gone?” Nate demanded once he’d sat him in the passenger seat.  
“I don’t know, soon,” Taylor shook his head, “Seth was coming to check on us when Kadie-“  
Nate closed the door on him before he could finish and made his way around to the driver’s side. Taylor covered his mouth with his hand as he finally digested that Kadie was dead.  
At least now she was with her brother.  
“Nate, what about the tracer?” he looked across as Nate got in and quickly started the car.  
“As long as we get a head start we should be fine,” Nate tried to assure as he backed the car up.  
Taylor finally let out the groan he’d saved up as he twisted onto his side away from the wound.  
“Where are we going?” he asked without opening his eyes.  
Nate gave him a glance before focusing on the road again.  
“I’m taking you home,” he promised, “but I’m gonna need you to stay awake for me.”

*

“This is not something I wish to deal with right now,” Connor almost growled as he made his way back to the training area.  
“Be that as it may…” Fowler countered, “my time here is limited and considering your substantial debt to my family I’d like to clear the matter up before the sun rises this morning so I can be on my way. With the boys.”  
“That’s not going to-“ Connor cut himself off when he saw the far door open.  
Seth’s shoes were visible to the left.  
“SETH?!”  
He ran as fast as he could, almost collapsing in the doorway when he got there. He saw Seth on his back, long unconscious.  
“Connor?” he heard Fowler’s voice over his shoulder.  
He ignored him, falling to his knees by his brother to check his pulse. Fowler appeared in the doorway and looked around the empty room curiously.  
“I say, that was quick,” he nodded, “these Hanson boys sure know how to turn things into their favour.“  
With a growl Connor pulled out his gun and fired. Fowler went down with a bullet wound in his forehead.  
Connor sighed and leant the gun on his knee as he looked down at Seth. It didn’t take long for Krüger’s driver to appear in the doorway and take in the two bodies with raised eyebrows.  
“It’s amazing isn’t it…” Connor began once he knew he had an audience, “how so simple some problems seem in the wake of others?”  
“Kadie’s dead,” the driver informed him, “we found Jack knocked out. He hasn’t come to yet.”  
Connor paused to think that over.  
“Nate,” he realised before looking up.  
“Go and fetch our last insurance policy. We’ll meet them on the road.”  
“Yes Sir,” the driver turned to leave before pausing and looking back.  
“Is he dead?” he had to ask.  
“He is,” Connor confirmed, moving one of Seth’s arms across his chest in a sentimental gesture, “and soon, I hope, Taylor and Nathan will be too. Lodge the tracer, I want to know where they’re going.”


	103. 103

They’d been on the road for hours when Taylor felt the shakes starting again. This time they seemed to have reinforcements.  
“Nate?” he managed a whisper, “I’m not going to make it.”  
“We’re almost at Pittsburgh,” Nate reached over to give his shoulder a squeeze, “we’re about a fifth of the way there. I’ll pick up speed.”  
“No,” Taylor struggled to open his eyes, “I’m not going to make it. You need to pull over.”  
Nate bit his lip as he checked the rear view mirror.  
“I know somewhere we can go,” he offered, looking for a turnoff to head into the city instead of around.  
It wasn’t too long after that when Taylor jumped as Nate touched his arm. When his eyes opened he realised the car had come to a standstill and he must have fallen asleep.  
“Where are we?” he asked as he struggled to sit up further.  
“Still in Pittsburgh,” Nate sounded regretful, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you home.”  
“You tried,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed as he tried to work out where they were.  
He looked to the right before looking out at the water in front of them.  
“Are we on a boardwalk?” he asked, confused.  
“Yeah,” Nate admitted, before pointing across the water, “that’s PNC park over there. I remember my Dad bringing me to a ballgame in Pittsburgh when I was about ten.”  
“I thought Ike said you were from Nebraska?” Taylor looked across at him.  
“Yeah,” Nate nodded, “but we had relatives in Pittsburgh. Dad’s brother I think. So we’d come over once a year or so to visit.”  
Taylor’s eyes lowered at that, before he looked out at the river again. It was just lightening to a pale grey as the sun started to rise to their right.  
“I’m sorry,” Nate said again, “I didn’t get to know you well enough to find somewhere that meant something to you.”  
“No, you did,” Taylor managed a small smile as he looked out at the river again, “because it meant something to you. Outside of your life with the Creeds.”  
Nate took a moment to digest that. There was an awkward moment of silence before he pushed his seat back and attempted to make himself comfortable.  
“Why is it so hard for you to admit that you care about me?” he asked suddenly.  
Taylor gave him an odd look before the movement made him cough. He looked out across the water again thoughtfully.  
“Because I tried for so long not to I guess,” he frowned, “and suddenly… taking orders from you felt like the most natural thing in the world. That terrified me.”  
“Submission is nothing to fear,” Nate looked confused.  
“I disagree,” Taylor shook his head, “I think submission is completely losing your identity.”  
“You think you lost that?” Nate frowned.  
“No,” Taylor glanced across at him, “but I consider myself one of the lucky ones. But someone like Jack? If we don’t stop the Creeds he’s going to be licking the blood from their floors for the rest of his life. And that’s not a life.”  
“You could have let me put him out of his misery,” Nate suggested.  
“Jack also has a life to go back to. So did Kadie,” Taylor pointed out, “who are you to them to decide that that’s not worth fighting for?”


	104. 104

“Do you really think that either of them would have been able to go on living some apple pie life?” Nate asked with honest curiosity, “after what they’ve both been through?”  
“They should have had a chance,” Taylor turned away, “Jack should have a chance. Of course nothing’s going to go back to the way it was before, but there’s always an opportunity for something new. Maybe even something better.”  
Nate looked across at him again. He could tell he was struggling to keep his eyes open, and that his shivers weren’t from the cold.  
“Is that what you always thought?” he asked.  
“I didn’t have to,” Taylor looked down at his hands, “I already knew. All I wanted was to get back to being a father. In that case it didn’t matter how messed up I was, as long as I could physically be there for them…”  
He paused to wipe a stubborn tear from his right eye before looking up at where the sun was slowly appearing over the bridges upstream.  
“At least they can know I tried,” he bit his lip, “and they can know I didn’t go down without a fight.”  
“You definitely didn’t go down without a fight,” Nate leant over to touch his knee reassuringly.  
Taylor hissed a little as he brushed one of the burns from the branding iron.   
“What?” Nate asked worriedly.  
Taylor took a couple of deep breaths before gingerly reaching down to pull up the side of his shirt. Nate eyed the burns next to Connor’s signature.  
“Did you have that before?” he frowned, noticing how the wound was healing over.  
“Yeah, I mean… it was the first thing Connor did,” Taylor gave him a glance, “didn’t you see it when you rescued me?”  
“No I didn’t,” Nate admitted, suddenly having trouble controlling his anger, “and now he’s burnt a ‘C’ into you too.”  
“A what?” Taylor looked down again.  
When he realised what Nate meant he rolled his eyes and leant back into the seat.  
“I thought it was a horseshoe,” he admitted, “I don’t know why I thought it was a horseshoe. I should have known better.”  
“He wanted to make sure there was no mistaking who owned you,” Nate was clenching his teeth.  
“He’s never owned me,” Taylor assured, “not even close. The only ones who ever mattered were Ramirez, Krüger and… you.”  
He gulped a little as he said it, barely believing they were having such a civil conversation. He looked toward the rising sun again as Nate began fumbling in the back for something. When Taylor realised he was taking some time he tried to turn and see if he could help.  
“I found something for you,” Nate admitted, reaching the bag before Taylor could move further.  
He pulled it into his lap and unzipped it, reaching in to find his prize.  
“For me?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, wondering what else Nate could surprise him with.  
When Nate revealed Krüger’s pistol, Taylor’s eyes widened slightly.  
“Where did you get that?” he asked as Nate handed it to him.  
“I believe Seth had it. I found it at the base,” Nate explained, “I figured… maybe you could use it to finish your mission. But now…”  
He trailed off, not really wanting to say it out loud. Taylor sighed as he looked it over.  
“Now I could use it to finish me?” he offered.


	105. 105

“I figured it might be poetic or whatever,” Nate shrugged.  
“It certainly would be,” Taylor frowned, taking a moment to check that the gun was loaded.  
There were three bullets left.  
“My life ended in multiple ways with this gun,” he couldn’t help but muse.  
“I don’t want to tell you to commit suicide or anything,” Nate needed to confirm, “but I figure if it gets too much… you know.”  
“I get it, thank you,” Taylor offered him a wary smile, sitting the gun on his lap.  
He took another deep breath, wincing as the sunlight coming over the bridge seemed to start giving him a headache.  
“Do you have a phone on you?” he asked after another short while.  
“Yeah,” Nate fumbled in his pocket for it, “but there isn’t much battery left.”  
He found it and handed it over.  
“Do you mind?” Taylor felt the need to check.  
“No, go for it,” Nate insisted.  
Taylor hesitated as he tried to think of who to call. Nate had been right – there wasn’t much battery left, and he’d only be able to make one.  
Taking into account the time of day, he dialled the first number that came to mind. Zac’s.  
He heard the phone beeping as it slowly ran out of battery as soon as he put it to his ear.  
“Hello?” Zac’s voice sounded distant but apprehensive.  
“Zac it’s me,” Taylor tried to clear his throat but it didn’t really work.  
“Tay?!”  
Taylor winced a little as static took over the line. Zac mustn’t have been in a good area.  
“Zac it’s happening again.”  
“What? Tay, I can’t hear you! What are you doing-? Where’s Seth?”  
Taylor only heard a couple of the questions Zac had fired off. He closed his eyes and concentrated, knowing the time was quickly slipping away.  
“Zac, listen to me,” he tried to cut in, “it’s happening again. Like Paris. Do you hear me?”  
Only static came down the line for a moment and Taylor wondered if it had cut out already.  
“Paris?” finally came the reply, “the Butcher?”  
“It’s not him,” Taylor reassured, “but… yeah. I needed to call you.”  
Taylor thought he heard Zac say something, but he wasn’t sure if he were talking into the phone and the static was taking over or if he were actually talking to someone else.  
“So you know… the usual,” Taylor smirked a little as the phone beeped again, “tell Nat and the kids that I love them with all my heart, and… I’m sorry.”  
“Tay… you weren’t… Ike can… to you. Almost… hang on!”  
Taylor frowned as he tried to make out what Zac was saying, but it was getting harder as the seconds passed.  
“Zac I can’t hear you,” Taylor wasn’t sure if Zac could even hear him, “so… just know that I love you guys, okay?”  
“Tay-“ Taylor ended the call before the phone could die altogether.  
He sighed as he handed it back to Nate.  
“I don’t know if he heard me,” he admitted, “it wasn’t good reception.”  
“Then he wasn’t at the Pentagon,” Nate frowned, before the car windscreen suddenly shattered.


	106. 106

“That wasn’t me,” Taylor’s eyes widened, showing his hands not touching the gun.  
“We would’ve heard the blast, it wasn’t close,” Nate agreed, debating whether to get out of the car or not.  
Taylor shifted down in his seat in case it happened again while Nate again fumbled with his bag – soon pulling out his binoculars and aiming them through the side window. Taylor wasn’t sure how he knew which direction to look but he soon heard an affirmative grunt.  
“We’ve got company,” he muttered, reaching back for his rifle which sat behind the seats.  
“The Creeds?” Taylor began to look worried, “they must have followed the tracer.”  
“One of them anyway,” Nate confirmed, “up on the bridge.”  
Taylor jumped a little as the phone suddenly rang. Nate quickly grabbed it before it could die.  
“What?!” he demanded.  
Taylor watched apprehensively as his face fell and he gave Taylor a worried glance.  
“What?” Taylor’s eyes searched his.  
“Sorry Connor, phone’s dying,” Nate said quickly, hanging up and turning the phone off before using it to hit out some of the windshield glass.  
He threw the phone onto the floor and handed Taylor the binoculars.  
“Look about fifty yards from our end,” he instructed.  
Taylor took the binoculars with a frown, doing as he asked and using the hole in the windscreen to see through.  
What he saw almost made him drop them.  
“Nate that’s Devon,” he shot him a look, “he was my protection detail at the Pentagon. He got thrown off the case because he was too involved.”  
“And now he’s only more involved,” Nate rolled his eyes, “hand me those, you don’t want to see this.”  
“He’s gonna kill him?” Taylor’s brow furrowed as he obediently handed the binoculars back, “Nate we can’t let them kill him.”  
“He’s in their hands, he’s as good as dead already,” Nate reasoned as he had another look.  
“What did they say?” Taylor demanded.  
“You don’t want to know,” Nate brushed off.  
“Nate,” Taylor’s voice grew about as stern as he could manage, “what did they say?”  
Nate pulled a face before lowering the binoculars.  
“That they’ll kill him unless we go up there,” he relented.  
“But I’m not gonna make it up there,” Taylor only grew more worried.  
“If we go up there, Connor will kill you,” Nate pointed out.  
“I’m dead already, how doesn’t matter anymore,” Taylor insisted, “and if it can free Devon-“  
“What part of Connor’s track record makes you think they’ll let him go?” Nate scorned.  
Taylor hesitated at that, thinking back to when Krüger first got his hands on Isaac.  
“They might at least let him live,” he was still unsure, “if there’s a chance of that I need to take it.”  
“You’re so willing to sacrifice yourself for someone you barely even know,” Nate shook his head.  
“Like I said, my time’s already up,” Taylor shrugged, “might as well make the last few minutes mean something.”  
Nate took a moment, then grunted and started the car.  
“I am so going to regret this,” he muttered, starting to reverse up the boardwalk.


	107. 107

When Nate pulled the car to a halt a few yards away, they could clearly see Devon on his knees with his wrists bound in cuffs – Connor standing a few feet behind with a gun aimed at his head. Krüger’s driver stood nearby but there was no sign of anyone else.  
“This is so out in the open,” Taylor frowned, turning to look over his shoulder.  
“There’s no traffic on the bridge,” Nate pointed out, “for this time of morning it should be packed. I don’t know about you, but that rat stench is pretty high from here.”  
He shut the car off and sighed.  
“Out of the car!” they heard Connor yell.  
“Just remember,” Nate looked across at Taylor, “you wanted this.”  
“I want them all dead,” Taylor looked back, “and you can consider that my dying wish.”  
Nate stared back at him for a moment before nodding and opening his door. Taylor took the time to quickly conceal Krüger’s gun at the back of his belt before Nate made it to his side and opened his door.  
“By all means, gentlemen, take your time,” Connor’s voice came as Nate reached in to grab him.  
Taylor took hold of his shoulder, and though Nate grimaced from the recent bullet wounds he held Taylor’s weight regardless. Once he had him out of the car he closed the door and let him lean back onto it.  
“Guess we don’t need to ask what you want,” Nate finally focused on Connor as he stepped back from Taylor, “but you know he’s not leaving here, right?”  
Taylor’s eyes met Devon’s. Devon mouthed a quick apology and Taylor just shook his head.  
“I don’t care,” Connor sneered.  
He turned his head slightly and whistled. Jack appeared from behind the black van, looking a little worse for wear. Connor handed him the gun, and Taylor considered the momentary distraction to reveal his. But he didn’t.  
“If anyone moves, shoot him,” Connor indicated Devon.  
Taylor gulped slightly. He liked to think Jack was on their side, but he could never really tell. He wasn’t willing to risk Devon’s life to a guess.  
That done, Connor approached the two. Taylor shifted his weight back down the car a little as he locked his eyes to him. Nate didn’t bother moving.  
“Before I kill either of you,” Connor looked between them, “I’d like to know which one of you killed my brother.”  
“What?” Taylor frowned, “you know I shot Ryan. What are you-“  
“Seth’s dead?” Nate raised a brow.  
“Seth?!” Taylor’s eyes darted between them.  
Connor studied their reactions in silence before settling his gaze on Taylor.  
“What happened?” he demanded in an icy tone, honing in on Taylor’s worried look.  
Taylor stared back in silence before Connor took a step toward him.  
“Kadie,” he shifted back along the car again to get away, “Kadie hit him in the chest with the prod. I didn’t think it would kill him.”  
Connor closed his eyes for a moment with a sigh.  
“If it makes you feel better I killed her,” Nate shrugged.  
Taylor saw Connor’s upper lip twitch before he opened his eyes. Without warning he turned and landed a punch across Nate’s jaw.


	108. 108

“Ow!” Nate complained, holding his jaw as he backed away, “fine, remind me not to do you a favour next time.”  
“A favour?” Connor’s eyebrows rose as he shadowed him, “a favour would be _not_ going on a rampage and killing just about everyone who’s ever worked for me. Wouldn’t you consider _that_ a favour?”  
Taylor looked towards Devon and Jack, locking eyes with Devon again as he carefully slid to the ground. He was unable to hold his weight up any longer, even against the car. He carefully eyed off the guard standing by Jack’s side. The look on his face suggested he was purely there for the entertainment factor.  
“That’s pushing it a bit, don’t you think?” Nate held his thumb and pointer an inch apart as he backed away against the side of the bridge.  
Connor continued to shadow him.  
“I wouldn’t think it would be too much to ask, considering a lot of those men were supposedly your friends. Colleagues,” Connor considered, stopping only when he had Nate cornered.  
The turn of the conversation caught Taylor’s attention again.  
“I wouldn’t necessarily put them in that category,” Nate shrugged.  
“Why did you do it?” Connor’s eyes narrowed, “you went to jail of your own accord. No one in our organisation had ever done you wrong. Why would you, of all people, betray us so defiantly?”  
Nate stopped to think that over, casting Taylor a wary glance.  
“Maybe I started seeing things in a different light,” his eyebrows rose, “maybe… what we consider wrong as opposed to what the layman considers wrong are two very different things. Maybe I came to appreciate the other side of the fence.”  
Taylor frowned at that, unable to fathom where to start on what was wrong with that statement.  
“You did it for Taylor, then,” Connor looked back at him.  
Taylor froze under Connor’s gaze.   
“I wouldn’t say I did it for him,” Nate relented a little, “but I would say it was with his influence.”  
“Of course it was,” Connor mused.  
Taylor’s eyes darted between the two, wondering what Nate was getting him into. He was already having trouble focusing and knew that if he was going to shoot anyone it had to be soon, but he couldn’t do anything while Connor was watching.  
He couldn’t even bring himself to move when Connor began to make his way toward him.   
“Seth was certainly right about you, wasn’t he?”  
He stopped a couple of feet in front of him, and Taylor began to wonder if this was it. Connor wasn’t into overkill on the bad guy monologuing but he didn’t appear to be armed yet either.  
“You certainly have a way of getting into peoples’ heads,” Connor seemed to appreciate, “how on earth did this all become about you and the people you decided to care about?”  
Taylor wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he didn’t.  
“Jack,” Connor held out a hand, “give me the gun.”  
Taylor’s eyes darted to Jack in worry. Jack returned the look, but he obediently stepped around Devon and began to make his way to Connor.  
Before he could turn around, Devon suddenly grabbed his leg from where he was kneeling. A sickening ‘pop’ sounded, and while Taylor wasn’t sure what Devon had done – Jack went down.  
The gun fell to the road with a clatter of metal and the guard bolted for it.


	109. 109

Devon got there first.  
In a flash he managed to get the gun off safety and turn it on the guard, putting two bullets into the man’s chest before he could even pull his own metal.   
As Connor turned to the distraction, Nate had lunged. He almost managed to get Connor into a headlock, but Connor turned in time to land a blow to Nate’s side. Taylor shifted himself to the left to try and get out of their way, turning back in time to see Devon get to his feet and turn the gun on Jack.  
“DEVON NO!” Taylor yelled, catching him off guard.  
Devon’s eyes darted between Jack and Taylor, before grunting and lowering the gun. In the meantime Connor seemed to be gaining the upper hand in his struggle with Nate so Taylor finally went for his concealed weapon.  
By the time he’d retrieved it Devon had darted to his side and taken his arm to pull him up.  
“We need to go,” he insisted in a soft tone.  
“No,” Taylor scorned, “I’m not leaving him.”  
“Who, Nate?” Devon looked to the fight in scorn.  
Taylor was too busy judging the fight to notice. Jack kept his eye on all of them, pulling himself to his hands and knees before managing to hop onto his good leg.  
Taylor didn’t see him until he was by his side, indicating for Taylor to give him the gun. Taylor shook his head, but Jack insisted. Realising he knew that Taylor could barely see straight Taylor reluctantly handed it over.  
Jack took a second to check it over – being an older pistol he wasn’t all that sure how to use it – before aiming it square at Connor’s back and firing.  
“Come on,” Devon tried to pull Taylor away again.  
“No!” Taylor insisted, “just leave me here. Get out of here if you want to go.”  
“That’s not the mission,” Devon hissed.  
“And you’re not on the clock,” Taylor’s eyes met his.  
Devon blanched a little when he realised Taylor couldn’t focus on him.  
“I’m not leaving you here,” he insisted.  
Connor had clutched at his shoulder, unable to reach where the bullet had penetrated. His steely gaze had turned on Jack as Jack struggled to figure out how to fire the next bullet.  
“Why you little-“  
Nate – after taking a moment to catch his breath – lunged a second time, attempting to get Connor into a headlock yet again. He received an elbow in the chin for his troubles and went down again.  
Jack ditched the gun and ran to help.  
“Give me the gun,” Taylor instructed Devon, unable to reach it himself.  
“I can’t let you kill him Tay,” Devon insisted, holding his own gun in the hand not holding Taylor up.  
“Someone has to!” Taylor insisted, “just give me the damn gun!”  
“What is wrong with you?!” Devon scorned, focusing on him now, “what happened to wanting to survive?!”  
“I can’t,” Taylor shook his head, “this is the next best-“  
He cut himself off and stared wide-eyed.  
“Holy shit,” he breathed.  
“What?!” Devon demanded, turning to see Nate leaning over the edge.


	110. 110

“Jack just grabbed him,” Nate frowned as Taylor and Devon joined him, “they both went over.”  
“I don’t see them,” Devon leant further over the railing.  
Nate eyed him, and for a second Taylor thought he might push him over too.  
“Jack jumped?” he looked to Nate worriedly.  
“And took Connor with him,” Nate nodded, jumping up himself.  
“Do you have a cell phone?” Devon demanded of Nate.  
“It’s dead,” Taylor replied instead.  
“Alright,” Devon relented, “sit tight, I’m gonna see if any of these guys had one.”  
He made sure Taylor had hold of the railing before jogging back over to the guard he’d killed. He quickly checked the man’s pockets before giving up and going to the van instead.  
“So this is it,” Taylor looked to Nate, “if the fall killed Connor, it’s over. Seth’s dead.”  
“If the fall killed him,” Nate agreed, looking down into the river again, “but I don’t see how he could have survived from this high up.”  
“What about the other guards, where we came from?” Taylor frowned, “there were at least two I didn’t see. And a doctor.”  
“I let the doctor go,” Nate assured, “the two guards I took out in order to get in. The rest of the base was empty.”  
“So what happened to everyone that left the other bases when they were shut down?” Taylor looked worried, “I thought they were supposed to evacuate and go to Connor’s last base? Isn’t that where we were?”  
“It was,” Nate confirmed, “they must have scattered. There can’t have been many of them, it’s not like they needed a hundred bad guys to control a few slaves.”  
“I counted twelve in a room with me once,” Taylor shook his head, “and they weren’t the only ones there.”  
“Yeah but that was you,” Nate mused, “and you had a reputation by then I’m sure. I think we’re done, Taylor. I really think so. With the Creeds gone… I don’t think anyone’s brave enough to fill their shoes. You can quote me on that.”  
Taylor looked back for Devon. He’d reappeared from the van with a phone to his ear and was looking in the opposite direction. Taylor could almost make out faint flashes of red and blue which told him help wasn’t far away.  
“Taylor?!”  
Hearing a faint call, Taylor squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on the people coming onto the bridge. The voice hadn’t been Devon’s. In fact, it sounded like…  
“Zac?” he breathed, trying to push himself up straighter.  
He looked back to Nate to ask for confirmation on whether or not it was in fact his brother, but his eyes widened when he saw that Nate had climbed over the edge.  
“NATE!” he yelled, reaching out to grab his arm.  
Nate jumped at the sudden exclamation and lost his footing on the slippery outside rail. Attempts to grab hold of the upper railing failed, but Taylor was close enough for him to grab onto the chain that formed the necklace he’d given him.  
“What are you doing?!” Taylor’s eyes were wide as he grabbed Nate’s arm.  
“It’s over!” Nate called back to him, “we’re done!”  
“We are _not_ done!” Taylor countered, “Nate please, get back up here!”


	111. 111

“Taylor you need to let me go,” Nate stared him in the eye.  
“So that’s it?!” Taylor exclaimed incredulously, “after everything, this is how you want to go out?!”  
“There’s no point in going back to jail,” Nate insisted.  
Taylor grimaced as he struggled to hold Nate’s weight, unable to counter the observation.  
“You’ll find a way out,” he tried to reassure, “you always find a way out!”  
“But why?” Nate frowned, “why should I keep living on the run? I’d rather be with you.”  
Taylor’s breath caught in his throat when he caught on to what Nate was doing. Just as soon, his eyes began to water.  
“Nate don’t leave me,” he shook his head, “not yet. I’m terrified!”  
“I’m not leaving you,” Nate looked into his eyes sternly, “you’re following me very soon. I’ll be waiting for you.”  
Taylor almost jumped out of his skin and almost dropped him when someone suddenly grabbed his left arm. When he turned to see who it was his brow furrowed.  
“Ike?!” he breathed incredulously.  
Isaac took a quick look over the edge as Taylor registered a shadow on his other side.  
“Holy crap,” Zac’s eyes widened when he realised what had happened.  
Isaac half jumped over the railing, reaching down toward Nate’s arm holding the necklace.  
“Nate give me your hand!” he yelled down.  
“Please,” Taylor begged him, “let us help you. Don’t do this.”  
“Taylor?” Nate’s gaze didn’t waver either side, “let me go.”  
It was an order.  
Before Taylor realised what had happened, he felt his grip slip on Nate’s arm and the chain snap from his neck.   
“NO!” he yelled, almost falling over the rail after him.  
Both Zac and Isaac grabbed his shoulders to pull him back. Zac had pulled him back so hard he almost went flying.  
When he fell to his knees Zac fell with him as Isaac quickly looked back over the ledge.  
“Tay?” Zac looked him over worriedly, “Tay? Are you with us?”  
Taylor fell down so his back was to the railing as he lost control of his emotions and started breaking down. Zac watched him cover his face before squeezing his shoulder supportively.  
“What happened?” Isaac turned back, confused, “the soldiers said the Creeds were here.”  
“Who cares?!” Zac scorned, “we need to get Tay out of here!”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, “I’m not going anywhere.”  
“Don’t you dare start with me,” Zac glared, grabbing Taylor by the shirt, “ _this_ is not your life, Tay. Your life is waiting for you back home. Remember your wife? Remember your kids?!”  
Zac frowned as his words seemed to fall on deaf ears. In seconds Taylor’s eyes had closed and he slumped forward.  
“Ike?!” he panicked.  
Isaac looked up in time to see Devon bolt toward them.   
“What’s wrong?!” Zac’s eyes locked on him as Devon fell to his knees in front of Taylor.  
“I overheard them say something about his kidney,” Devon admitted, grabbing Taylor’s face and patting it, “Tay? Come on Tay, wake up! Stay with me!”  
“What about his kidney?” Isaac’s eyes darted between them before trying to help stand him up.


	112. 112

“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to stay in the waiting room,” a nurse had to put a hand on Isaac’s chest to stop him.  
“I don’t think so,” Zac shook his head as Isaac kept his eye on the gurney racing away.  
“Stay here,” Devon insisted, “I’ll see what I can do.”  
“You need to stay back too,” the nurse frowned at him.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself,” Devon turned on her, “Private Andrew Devon of the United States Federal Armed Forces. That man in there is my charge and I can go wherever the hell I want.”  
Isaac and Zac gave each other a wary glance as Devon took off after the gurney. The nurse watched after him in silence for a moment, before huffing and indicating for Isaac and Zac to back down the corridor.  
“How bad do you think it is?” Zac asked as they took a seat with a view of the corridor.  
“Devon’s more worried than I’ve ever seen before,” Isaac reasoned, looking pretty worried himself.  
“Yeah… I noticed,” Zac clasped his hands as he set to waiting.  
They were there barely five minutes before Dekker appeared through the main doors, Whyte and Carter closely in tow. The sight of the heavily armed soldiers sent some people in the waiting room scrambling for the doors.  
“Status?” Dekker demanded once he spotted the brothers.  
“We’re okay, if that’s what you mean,” Zac’s eyes narrowed.  
“Tay went into shock, I think,” Isaac gave him a glance before answering, “we don’t know the whole story. Devon’s in there with him.”  
“Devon?” Dekker’s eyebrows rose before he looked to the corridor and approached the nearest nurse.  
“What about Creed?” Carter demanded just as harshly.  
“Or Devereux?” Whyte frowned.  
“Dead as far as we know,” Isaac offered, “I saw Nate die myself. They’re pulling his body from the river as we speak.”  
“You don’t have confirmation on Creed?” Carter double checked.  
“Which one?” Zac didn’t lose the scornful look.  
“Devon said something about Connor being dead,” Isaac shrugged, “I don’t know anything about Seth.”  
Carter and Whyte both looked up as Dekker whistled to them, and Carter took off after him. Whyte opted to stay with the brothers.  
“Where’s your detail?” he asked, noting they were practically alone.  
“Jenkins and Monroe? Outside,” Zac became more amiable with Dekker gone, “they wanted to set a perimeter around the hospital considering we don’t know about Seth yet.”  
“Private Monroe, are you in range? Over,” Whyte asked into his radio.  
There was a momentary pause before a crackled reply came through.  
“On your six. Over.”  
Whyte turned to see Monroe heading through the doors and went to greet him. Monroe pulled him back to Isaac and Zac.  
“What’s going on?” Isaac looked between them when he saw the look on Monroe’s face.  
“They’re bringing in Connor and Nate,” Monroe informed them, “along with a younger male. Wondering if you two could identify him for us?”


	113. 113

“How?” Isaac stood to ask, figuring it would at least take their minds off Taylor, “Jenkins told us to stay here.”  
“Not a problem,” Monroe assured, “we had men down at the river taking photos. Got Haddon wiring them over for us now.”  
“It’s not like we have anything better to do than look at photos of dead bodies,” Zac sighed, also standing.  
Whyte nodded for them to step over to a corner away from the general public. Or what was left of them. Monroe pulled out his palm pilot and set to waiting for Haddon’s messages to come through.  
It took another few minutes before he came through.  
“Either of you know this guy?” Monroe was sure to hold the screen so that no one else could see.  
“Ah…” Zac squinted as he tried to decipher the man’s face through an obviously broken neck, “I don’t think I know him, sorry.”  
Monroe passed it to Isaac who hadn’t spoken a word. At his frown, Monroe’s eyebrows rose.  
“Ike?” he stared him down.  
“I do know him,” Isaac nodded, “but I don’t remember his name.”  
“Was he at Wausau?” Zac looked curious.  
“No, it was long before that,” Isaac reached over to take the palm pilot, studying the photos closer, “I saw this guy when Tay and I escaped from Krüger.”  
“Was he working with Krüger?” Monroe frowned.  
“I don’t know,” Isaac shook his head, “but I’m sure Tay would.”  
“Of course he would,” Zac rolled his eyes, turning away.  
“He must have known him,” Isaac handed it back to Monroe, “because this guy let us go. But if I remember right Krüger was already dead when Tay got us out of there, so maybe he was working with Seth?”  
“How would one of Seth’s kids end up at the bottom of the river with Connor and Devereux?” Whyte looked confused.  
“It again begs the question…” Monroe looked worried, “where is Seth?”  
Zac suddenly darted away from the group when he saw Devon returning down the corridor. Dekker was with him and their argument was about to become very public.  
“You could have compromised a sensitive operation-“  
“You think I wanted this?! I was out! What the hell do you think I was doing in Detroit?!”  
“Seth was picked up in Detroit. Maybe you were scouting.”  
“I was with Henry,” Devon scorned, his voice lowering now that they were in the waiting room, “I was leaving the hospital when they picked me up. I’ll bet my stripes there’s surveillance on that.”  
“Hey,” Zac interrupted, “what’s happening in there?”  
Devon and Dekker causing a scene was the last thing they needed. Not to mention that Taylor now had no one with him.  
“They’ve got him on dialysis,” Devon assured, “but it’s not good.”  
He took a quick look around the room before pulling Zac aside. Dekker scowled but said nothing.  
“What is it?” the hairs on Zac’s neck were standing on end.  
“One kidney’s gone, I kinda knew about that,” Devon admitted, “but the damage has spread internally because we took so long to get to it. If he doesn’t get a donor kidney he’s not going to be on that machine for long. Dialysis is the only thing keeping him alive right now.”


	114. 114

“But I was on the waiting list for over six months,” Zac began to panic, “how long is he gonna hold out?!”  
“Look, we all know Tay’s a fighter, okay?” Devon tried to calm him down, “so I’m not going to rule anything out on his part. But like I said, it’s not looking good. The urgency has sent him to the top of the list but I don’t know if he’s going to hold out long enough to get the first one to come along.”  
“What does he need?” Isaac overheard the last part and had ducked into the circle.  
“Kidney,” Zac’s face had lost colour, “and fast. Devon – family can donate, right?”  
“Not you,” Devon insisted straight away, “you’re too much of a risk with your own… donor situation.”  
“What about me?” Isaac put in straight away.  
“There’s no guarantees,” Devon insisted, “I’m not a doctor and even I know that just because you’re related it doesn’t mean you’re a match.”  
“How can we find out?” Zac demanded.  
“I’ll go for any tests they need me to,” Isaac assured, “and it sounds like time is of the essence with this.”  
“It definitely is,” Devon looked across to Dekker, “let me get back to the nurse and I’ll have her come get you, okay? Wait here.”  
Devon waited for Isaac’s nod before watching Dekker again. He waited until he wasn’t looking before bolting back down the corridor.  
“Holy crap,” Zac ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.  
“I just offered up a kidney, didn’t I?” Isaac only now began to look worried.  
“Yeah, you did…” Zac confirmed, looking over to where Monroe and Whyte were somewhat keeping Dekker occupied.  
He hadn’t noticed Devon’s disappearance yet.  
“Oh man,” Isaac was starting to freak out.  
“Okay, stay calm,” Zac was talking to himself as well as Isaac, “first thing’s first – we need to try and get Nat here, right? She’s his next of kin she might have to approve everything.”  
“Yeah,” Isaac winced, “that involves talking to Dekker.”  
“Dekker!” Zac called, momentarily forgetting their ruse, “can we get Tay’s wife to Pittsburgh?!”  
“What for?” Dekker returned to them, “from the sounds of it she won’t make it in time.”  
“We might need her permission to do a transplant,” Isaac tried to ignore the tone Dekker had used.  
“I can get that in writing and have it faxed over,” Dekker assured, “do they have a donor?”  
“Me, hopefully,” Isaac admitted, “they just need to run some tests…”  
They looked up as Devon suddenly reappeared with a nurse looking rushed off her feet.  
“Which one of you is Isaac?” her eyes darted between them.  
“Here,” Isaac held up a hand.  
“Come with me please,” she insisted before racing back down the corridor.  
“Gotta go,” Isaac gave Zac a worried look before starting to take off his watch as he followed her.  
“And where were you?” Dekker demanded of Devon.  
“Bite me,” Devon scorned, heading back to Whyte and Monroe.  
Zac watched after Isaac until he disappeared from sight before following.  
“Dekker says he can get Nat’s permission faxed over if they need it,” he told him.  
“Good,” Devon nodded, “we could need it in a few minutes if all goes well.”


	115. 115

“Jenkins,” Monroe called over his radio, “status on the perimeter?”  
“All clear,” came the distant reply.  
“Then get in here,” Monroe insisted, “my charge has just offered himself up for the slab and I need to get in there.”  
“On my way.”  
“They don’t expect me to stay out here when both my brothers are about to go in for surgery, right?” Zac looked worried.  
“We’ll see what we can do, but they really don’t like anyone back there,” Devon insisted.  
“Someone needs to be watching them,” Zac insisted, “don’t forget what happened in Paris.”  
“Carter’s with Tay,” Devon assured, “I wouldn’t leave him alone. Don’t worry.”  
Zac breathed a sigh of relief at that.  
“And Monroe is going with Ike… okay,” he told himself.  
“It’ll work out,” Devon tried to assure him, grabbing his shoulder and squeezing slightly, “I believe.”  
“I don’t know,” Zac shook his head, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”  
Devon tried not to roll his eyes at that as he focused down the corridor once again.  
There was a good ten minutes of uncomfortable silence between everyone as the emergency ward bustled around them. Dekker kept in constant communication with the nurses, and after the ten minutes finally came over to where Jenkins had returned to Zac’s side.  
“We’ve gotten confirmation from Natalie,” he informed them, “the transplant will be going ahead.”  
Devon breathed a sigh of relief from where he stood nearby.  
“So Ike’s a match?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“They’re still rushing the DNA through, that’s all I know,” Dekker shrugged, “it could take a while.”  
“Taylor doesn’t _have_ a while,” Zac groaned, “did they say anything about getting Nat here?”  
“She signed the forms and got on a plane,” Dekker nodded, “she’ll be here in a couple of hours tops.”  
Zac watched after him as he went back to wait where the nurse met him as she ran back and forth.   
“Was Tay awake?” Zac looked to Devon, surprised he hadn’t thought to ask earlier.  
“No,” Devon shook his head, “I think the question is whether or not he’ll wake up again.”  
“Haddon did,” Jenkins offered, “we can go two for two, I’m sure of it.”  
Zac just shook his head. It was hard not to let his emotions get the better of him when there was nothing to do other than sit and wait.  
A few minutes later the nurse appeared again and quickly whispered something to Dekker before disappearing. Zac couldn’t help but grit his teeth when he saw Dekker’s eyes widen slightly.  
He made his way back the second the nurse was gone.  
“They’ve got a match,” he informed.  
“Yes!” Devon hissed, turning away in relief.  
“And?” Zac demanded.  
“And they’re operating straight away. She insisted there’s no guarantees that it will take however, and they can’t let him off the machines until it does, but they have a good match.”  
“Thank God,” Devon sighed, getting a nervous chuckle from Jenkins.  
“How’s Ike doing?” Zac asked, now worried about him too.  
“Didn’t say,” Dekker shrugged as he turned to walk away again.  
“He’ll be fine,” Devon assured, “they do this sort of thing all the time.”


	116. 116

Zac shot to his feet the moment he caught sight of her.  
“Nat!” he waved to get her attention as the two soldiers escorted her in.  
“Zac?”  
As soon as she recognised her brother-in-law she ran into his waiting arms, trying not to lose it already.  
“What’s going on? They won’t tell me anything!”  
“He’s still in surgery,” Zac replied, “they say it could be another hour.”  
“How long does it take?” Natalie finally pulled away, “is it because he was sick?! What happened? How did he even get here?!”  
Zac took her hand and gave Devon a glance before leading her back to an empty corner in the waiting room. Whyte stepped aside to allow them some space, and Zac looked out the nearby window as they both took a seat.  
“From what we’ve gathered, between what Devon overheard and what the doctors have put together…” he began carefully, “Tay was stabbed in the back and there was some damage done to one of his kidneys.”  
“So that’s what he’s having transplanted?” Natalie frowned, “his kidney?”  
“Yes and no,” Zac winced a little.  
“Zac Hanson if you don’t start talking straight with me I swear-“  
“Sorry,” Zac cut in, squeezing her hand a little tighter, “the kidney that was damaged was irreparable, even with a replacement. It started killing everything around it.”  
“What?” Natalie gasped.  
“So it’s the other one they’re replacing,” Zac continued on, “I don’t know if that was the extent of the damage or not, but everyone’s telling us not to get our hopes up.”  
“But they think it’ll work, right?” Natalie’s worry showed, “or they wouldn’t even be trying?”  
Zac shrugged, not settling her nerves at all.  
“I guess so,” he offered, “I mean I don’t think they’re allowed to give up per se, but… you know you’re right. I don’t think they’d risk Ike if the outcome wasn’t looking the best.”  
Natalie nodded at that, taking a deep breath in the gap in conversation.  
“How’s Ike doing?” she finally looked up.  
“He was fine when I saw him last,” Zac shrugged, “but they hadn’t done the tests then. I mean he was freaked out, sure, but he knew what he was signing up for. I think.”  
“Who did?”  
Zac’s eyes shot up to the voice, and he jumped to his feet. Natalie just looked confused.  
“What are you doing out here?!” Zac exclaimed.  
“Waiting,” Isaac sighed, “just like you are.”  
“Aren’t you supposed to be in theatre?” Natalie finally stood, stopping him before he could hug her.  
“I wasn’t a match,” Isaac shook his head.  
“But Dekker said you were,” Zac frowned.  
“Dekker said they had a match,” Whyte corrected over his shoulder, “he didn’t say it was Isaac.”  
Natalie finally let him hug her, but the confusion didn’t disappear from her face.  
“Then what took you so long to get back?” Zac was almost scowling.  
“They had me prepped before we found out,” Isaac shrugged, “I was about to go under so it took some time to come back. But either way Tay’s getting what he needs, so I figured it didn’t matter.”


	117. 117

“I just had a horrible thought,” Zac said sometime later as he sat between Natalie and Isaac on the hard hospital chairs.  
“Which one?” Isaac couldn’t help but sigh as he rubbed his eyes.  
He paused and looked at his bare wrist.  
“I didn’t get my watch back,” he realised.  
“What if the donor kidney is coming from someone who went over the bridge?” Zac ignored him.  
“Bridge?” Natalie frowned.  
“You think it could be coming from Connor or Nate?” Isaac looked worried.  
“Or the other guy,” Zac shrugged, “we don’t know. But they brought their bodies in fast enough.”  
“You can’t take donations from corpses,” Natalie cut in, making Zac turn to her, “the donor still has to be alive. Usually just brain-dead or something.”  
“Are you sure?” Zac frowned, “because I was sure my lung came from a car crash victim.”  
“Maybe they were still alive?” Isaac suggested.  
“No one told me that,” Zac looked worried.  
“The organ has to be functioning,” Natalie shook her head, “in order for it to work in the recipient’s body. There’s a really short amount of time between extraction and insertion otherwise it might not start working again.”  
“How do you even know that?” Zac frowned.  
“I had an Uncle who knew someone… never mind,” Natalie brushed off, “but if they were dead it couldn’t have been them.”  
“Crosses them out then,” Isaac looked relieved, “and gladly so. I don’t know if Tay could live with that knowledge.”  
“The only body we saw was the kid’s,” Zac pointed out, “how do we know either Connor or Nate weren’t alive when they were pulled from the river?”  
“Because I’d like to think the army would tell us that little fact,” Isaac scorned.  
“And why would they start telling us everything now?” Zac hit back just as scornful.  
“Problem?” Monroe looked across from where he stood against the wall.  
“Just arguing over where Tay’s kidney’s coming from,” Isaac offered a fake smile in his direction.  
“We don’t know,” Monroe shrugged, figuring he’d settle at least part of the argument, “obviously someone on the donor list or who was able to get consent pretty easily. But I couldn’t give you their name or anything, we just know they were brought in in the last couple of hours.”  
“See?” Isaac turned back, “they’d have to know if it was either Connor or Nate, right?”  
Zac saw Monroe’s second shrug, which Isaac didn’t. He just rolled his eyes and looked down at his hands again.  
“How long has he been in?” Natalie asked, putting a hand on Zac’s shoulder as she sensed the tension.  
“About three hours now,” Zac replied after a quick look at the clock.  
“Does it usually take this long?”  
“Could be longer,” Isaac shrugged, “he was in a bad way.”  
Zac resisted the urge to stomp on his brother’s foot and simply kicked it instead. That wasn’t something Natalie had needed to hear. Isaac was about to apologise when Dekker appeared.  
“He’s out,” he informed them as he closed in, “by all accounts it went well.”  
“Can we see him?” Natalie asked straight away.


	118. 118

“Not yet,” Dekker replied, “they’re transferring him to recovery now. It could be a while before he wakes up.”  
“I don’t care when he wakes up I just want to see him breathing,” Zac insisted, “and I want him out of Pittsburgh.”  
“Well that’s definitely not going to happen,” Dekker lay down the law, “you’ll be lucky if we can transfer him within a week from what I hear.”  
Natalie grabbed Zac’s arm before he could retort.  
“That’s normal, from what I know,” she assured.  
“Need I remind everyone that Seth’s still out there somewhere?!” Zac’s voice rose slightly, “and if Devon’s EMP thing didn’t work he knows _exactly_ where he is!”  
“You think Seth would get through us?” Monroe frowned as Devon appeared at the sound of his name.  
“He’s done it before!” Zac scorned, “that’s the whole damn problem! Maybe while he was under they should have taken the tracer out too!”  
“Can they do it now?” Isaac’s eyes darted between Dekker and Devon.  
“I give permission,” Natalie assured, stepping forward a little, “I’ll sign whatever you want me to.”  
“I’ll see what I can do,” Devon darted away.  
Dekker reached out and caught his arm before he could get far.  
“I’ll go,” he stared him down before taking off in the direction Devon had been headed.  
Devon scowled after him.  
“For crying out loud,” Zac rolled his eyes before walking over and grabbing Devon’s shoulder.  
Devon gave him a blank look.  
“I don’t know how much longer I can stand this pissing contest between you two,” Zac was trying to hold back but the growl came through in his voice, “don’t you think we have more important things to worry about?”  
“I’m trying to help, that’s all I’m doing,” Devon insisted in a lower tone, “Dekker has every right to be stopping me because I was put on suspension, but-“  
“Suspension?” Zac frowned, “I thought it was just our case?”  
“Same thing,” Devon shrugged, “I went home to see how Henry was doing. But I’d rather be here. Taylor was my charge for a long time, and I want to see this through.”  
“I understand that,” Zac assured, “but you fighting with Dekker can only be hindering this process. What has Andrews said?”  
“I haven’t spoken to him,” Devon admitted.  
“Don’t you think that might be an idea?” Zac suggested.  
“I’ll give him a call,” Devon gave Zac a sheepish look, “but I might need backup.”  
“I’ve got your back,” Jenkins assured, having moved over when Zac had gotten out of his seat.  
“Thanks,” Devon gave him an appreciative smile.  
Zac just thumbed over his shoulder, indicating for them to be on their way. Once they were out of sight he headed back to his brother and sister-in-law.  
“What was that?” Isaac frowned as he took a seat.  
“Shifting focus,” Zac gave him a glance before he folded his arms and set to waiting again.  
“Really?” Isaac could tell he wouldn’t get anything more out of him.  
He sighed before giving Natalie a reassuring look and refocusing on the only clock in the room.


	119. 119

It wasn’t too long before Dekker reappeared and Zac rose to his feet expectantly.  
“No,” Dekker shook his head.  
“Why not?” Zac frowned.  
Dekker sighed as he looked between the three of them, the tone making Natalie get to her feet as well.  
“It’s too risky,” Dekker insisted, “they’re still trying to pull him out of the anaesthetic and they’re having enough trouble as it is. There’s no way they’re going to send him under again unnecessarily.”  
“Unnecessarily?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Zac,” Isaac grabbed his arm, “if Tay can’t handle it, he can’t handle it.”  
“There’s no sense arguing,” Natalie agreed, lowering her eyes.  
“Then this hospital better be on complete lockdown,” Zac was seething, “because if Seth was threatening to fly a plane into the Pentagon to get us? Imagine what he’ll do to a random hospital.”  
Dekker just rolled his eyes and walked away. Both Natalie and Isaac took hold of Zac before he could follow.  
“Sit down,” Isaac scorned.  
“Wait,” Zac hit his hand, making Isaac stop pulling.  
He’d spotted Devon looking suspicious as he slowly reappeared from around a corner. Devon soon realised he’d been made and subtly indicated Natalie. Without a word between them, Natalie gave Dekker a cautious glance before looking like she was making her way to the toilet and quickly darting back to Devon once she was close. Isaac and Zac both tried not to watch while managing to keep an eye on them, soon seeing them disappear again.  
“What do you think that’s about?” Zac finally took a seat again.  
Isaac just shrugged.  
“Hopefully good news?” his eyebrows rose.  
It took seconds for Dekker to notice her missing.  
“Where’s Natalie?” he demanded after returning to them.  
“Bathroom,” Zac thumbed toward it, not missing a beat.  
“This is why we need to bring female officers with us,” Monroe mused nearby, knowing very well where she’d gone instead.  
“Watch the door,” Dekker directed Monroe, “if anyone going in looks remotely suspicious…”  
“I got it,” Monroe assured in a bored tone.  
Dekker returned to his post where he was able to monitor the nurses going through and at the same time keep an eye on the main doors.  
“At least he hasn’t asked about Devon,” Isaac pointed out softly, garnering a smirk from both Zac and Monroe.  
Natalie was gone for a good ten or fifteen minutes before Devon reappeared and silently indicated for Zac to join him. Isaac held back a sigh at being left out, trying not to draw attention as Zac stood and followed Natalie’s route. Jenkins eyed him curiously, not too worried about him while the other soldiers were still in the room.  
“What’s going on?” Zac asked once he made it to Devon’s side.  
“He’s in the ICU,” Devon responded just as quiet, “he’s still under but they’re basically just keeping watch at this stage. Because he was pretty frail to begin with he probably won’t be awake for a couple of hours yet. Do you want to see him?”


	120. 120

Zac soon spotted Natalie standing in the corridor, looking through the large panel window into ICU with tears in her eyes. When she realised Zac was heading for her she held out her arms and he grabbed her into a tight hug.  
“Hey, you okay?” he asked softly, knowing she wasn’t but not knowing what else to say.  
He did a double take when he saw his brother through the window. Two nurses busily surrounded him, one checking a drain in his side and the other monitoring his heart rate. He looked paler than Zac could ever remember his brother being before.  
“Why did this have to happen?” Natalie suddenly asked through her tears.  
“I don’t know,” Zac wasn’t sure what to offer as he rubbed her back.  
“Every time, he’s come home in one piece. Except when that Krüger guy shot him and that time Nate stabbed him…”  
“I know,” Zac sighed, beginning to appreciate what he must have put his family through back in 2004.  
“Why did he do it?” Natalie seemed to demand, “why did he have to take it so far?! Why did he have to play vigilante?!”  
“Hey, hey,” Zac gave her a pat before pulling away a little so he could look her in the eye, “we know Tay better than anyone, right? We know he wouldn’t have done it if he thought there was any other way.”  
Natalie furiously rubbed at her eyes before looking back at Taylor.  
“He could have left it to the army,” she insisted, “if he knew where they were he could have just told them.”  
“Nate wouldn’t have let him,” Zac assured, “and we all know Nate had his claws in Tay from day one. You can only push someone so far, Nat. Tay just met his breaking point.”  
“This didn’t have to happen,” Natalie shook her head, staring through the window as one of the two nurses adjusted the breathing tube down Taylor’s throat.  
Zac gave his brother another glance but couldn’t stand to look for long.  
“Maybe it didn’t,” he relented, “but it’s not gonna change the fact that we’re here now.”  
He turned when he heard footsteps, glad to see that it was only Jenkins following him.  
“And he’s gonna be okay,” Zac reiterated, “he looks… fine.”  
Natalie gave him a scornful look, but even he hadn’t believed it. Jenkins soon reached them and took a look through himself.  
“I’ve seen worse,” he shrugged.  
“And where have you served?” Zac didn’t even look at him.  
Jenkins smirked before stepping aside.  
“Come on, you’re not supposed to be back here.”  
“Where’s Devon?” Zac asked, trying to distract him long enough for Natalie to pull away.  
“Dekker finally caught up with him,” Jenkins admitted, “apparently Andrews wants him taken in for questioning right away. He’s made himself a witness now.”  
“Great,” Zac pulled a face before jumping as Natalie put a hand on his shoulder.  
“Let’s go,” she insisted, “before he gets in any more trouble.”  
“You sure?” Zac waited for her nod before starting to follow Jenkins back to the waiting room.  
Isaac was waiting impatiently, Dekker standing nearby. Dekker gave the two of them a stern look as they reappeared but said nothing as they returned to their seats.


	121. 121

“Taylor? It’s time to wake up.”  
Taylor couldn’t even groan, he was so tired. He wanted nothing more than to keep his eyes closed and go straight back to sleep.  
“Taylor?” Nate’s voice snaked into his ears, “what did I say?”  
Taylor frowned, wishing he could fight. He didn’t even have the energy to argue. It took some encouragement but he finally managed to squeeze his eyes open.  
All he could see was blur. He could hear machines whirring around him and he saw the vague outline of a person to his right, but his eyes refused to focus on anything.  
“There we go,” he could hear the grin in Nate’s voice, “keep your eyes open. That’s my boy.”  
Taylor tried to ask where he was, and immediately felt the tube in his throat. Panic hit him and he tried to grab for it but his arms wouldn’t go where he wanted them to.  
“Calm down Sir!” he heard a female voice as he blinked furiously trying to clear his vision.  
He felt someone hold him down as the tube was carefully pulled from his throat. Once it was gone he promptly turned his head to the right and threw up some bile.  
“Taylor?” the female voice came again, “I need you to concentrate, okay? Can you tell me if you feel any pain?”  
Taylor grimaced as he tried to catch his breath again, finding himself unable to roll further onto his side. His throat felt on fire and all he could do was groan, so he just nodded.  
“On a scale of one to ten, one being the smallest amount of pain and ten being the worst you’ve ever felt… can you give me a number Taylor?”  
Taylor frowned as he panted, trying to work out a number when he could barely even focus on keeping his eyes open.  
“Five?” he choked out, wondering as soon as he’d said it if his pain threshold would be considered normal at this point.  
“Okay so that’s still pretty high… we’ll get you something for the pain. You’re going to be okay.”  
Taylor looked up to his right again where the figure he’d sworn had been Nate stood earlier. In his place stood a portly nurse, seeing to one of the many tubes that seemed to cover him. He frowned in confusion for a moment before trying to look around the room but his vision still wouldn’t allow him to make out anything further away than the machines monitoring his heart rate.  
“Where am I?” he managed without a cough, his throat not only stinging from the tube but dry from a lack of hydration.  
“You’re at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. Don’t worry, we’re looking after you.”  
“Hospital?” Taylor’s voice croaked again as his eyes closed.  
He couldn’t remember anything about getting to the hospital. He couldn’t even remember _why_ he’d have been taken there. The only thing he could think about was wondering where Nate had gone and why he wasn’t in the room with him still.  
“Just relax,” the nurse insisted, “we’ll have you on your feet in no time.”  
“Where’s Nate?” Taylor’s voice fell to a whisper, his eyes refusing to open again.  
“Nat?” the nurse corrected slightly, “Natalie? She’s waiting just outside for you. You can see her soon.”  
“No,” Taylor frowned, “Nate… Nathan.”  
There was a momentary pause as the nurses looked to each other in confusion.  
“I’m sorry Sir, I don’t know who you mean,” one replied, “there’s no one here by that name.”


	122. 122

It didn’t take long once Taylor was awake for him to be transferred from the ICU and into the transplant ward where he’d have to stay for the remainder of his time in the hospital. Taylor barely registered the movement while it was happening but his eyes soon shot open when he heard some familiar voices.  
“Tay?” Natalie waited until the bed was stationary before approaching and gently running her fingers through his fringe, “are you awake?”  
He didn’t want to be. But the sound of his wife’s voice after so long was helping to bring him back.  
“Yeah,” he smiled a little as he lay eyes on her for the first time.  
“Good. You gave us a bit of a scare there.”  
Taylor’s eyes shifted down to around his hips where Isaac stood by the bed. He was leaning on the railing and looking down with concern.  
“What happened?” Taylor frowned, wondering what hospital he could possibly be at where both his brother and wife would even be allowed to be by his side.  
“You don’t remember?” Natalie frowned.  
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Isaac mirrored her look.  
Taylor’s eyes lowered as he tried to think. It was hard enough registering that he was recovering from some kind of unexpected surgery.  
“I remember being in the car with Nate,” he realised, getting flashes of memories from looking out over the river, “…did Connor stab me?”  
“We’re not sure,” Natalie left her hand on his head, “we were hoping you could tell us.”  
“Why am I here?” Taylor’s frown only deepened, “what was I getting done? And where’s Nate?”  
Natalie looked to Isaac in alarm and he couldn’t offer anything reassuring.  
“Tay…” he moved in closer and leant over again, “Nate’s dead.”  
“What?” Taylor gasped out.  
“Do you remember the bridge?” Isaac tried to keep him from dwelling on it.  
“Bridge?” Taylor’s mind was now racing, trying to remember anything he could.  
He struggled to sit up for a moment, but both Natalie and a nearby nurse managed to push him down again.  
“You’re not well enough to sit up just yet Mr Hanson,” the nurse insisted, “just stay down.”  
“He can’t be dead,” Taylor was shaking his head as it hit the pillow, “I saw him. I heard him.”  
“What do you mean?” Natalie was concerned.  
“When I woke up,” Taylor was insistent, “Nate was there. So he _can’t_ be dead!”  
“Tay…” Isaac reached over to take his hand.  
Taylor pulled it away.  
“I saw him go over,” Isaac insisted, “Zac saw him go over. Devon was there too, and we all saw him. He… jumped, Tay. He wanted to die.”  
“Then I should have gone with him,” Taylor’s eyes darted across the ceiling.  
“What?” Natalie’s brow furrowed.  
“He can’t be dead,” Taylor insisted, “he just can’t be. I know what I saw.”  
“Maybe the drugs…?” Natalie suggested, looking to Isaac for help.  
“No,” Taylor shook his head.  
“Probably,” Isaac shrugged, “Nat… stay here with him. I’ll be right back.”  
“Where are you going?” Natalie looked up in surprise as Isaac darted out of the ward.


	123. 123

“Tay’s a suicide risk,” Isaac blurted.  
“Excuse me… what?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Are you sure?” Jenkins frowned.  
“I’m sure,” Isaac nodded, “and it’s not the first time.”  
“What happened?” Zac demanded, knowing there was more to the story.  
“Well he’s awake,” Isaac began, “and he doesn’t remember much.”  
“Does he remember what happened to Seth?” Jenkins asked.  
“We didn’t get that far,” Isaac admitted, “I had to tell him that Nate was dead, and his reaction… get this… was ‘I should have gone with him’.”  
“What the?” Zac’s face screwed up.  
“Exactly.”  
“If he’s awake Dekker will want to be in there shortly,” Jenkins looked between the brothers, “and I hate to say it… but Taylor is technically still under military arrest. Seth wasn’t the only one who escaped that night, remember?”  
“So what does that mean for Tay?” Isaac frowned.  
“It means a 24/7 guard for one,” Jenkins tried to make it sound positive, “so he’s not going to be able to do anything while we’re watching. Dekker will probably want to question him…”  
“Even if he doesn’t remember?” Isaac asked as Zac rolled his eyes.  
“He’ll want to find out exactly how much he does remember for a start,” Jenkins shrugged, “which is reasonable.”  
“Tay’s not gonna want Dekker in his face,” Isaac smirked, “he is not… very _him_ right now.”  
“How can we delay it?” Zac asked seriously.  
Jenkins glanced over his shoulder toward where Dekker was speaking with Monroe and Carter.  
“We can’t,” he shook his head, “but if Tay’s as bad as you say he is, best we get him under watch right away.”  
“And I want to see him,” Zac insisted, “I’m sure if anyone can knock sense into him, I can.”  
“I think Nat was just in shock at what he said,” Isaac said thoughtfully as Jenkins stepped aside, “I mean I was too. You know he almost finished what he started you’d think he’d be a little more…”  
“Proud?” Zac smirked, “I don’t think Tay would ever be proud of killing people, as much as Nate seems to have rubbed off on him.”  
“Should we go?” Isaac indicated over his shoulder as he saw Jenkins approach Dekker.  
Zac turned to look, then nodded.  
The two headed back down to the ward, finding Natalie and the same nurse still with their brother. It didn’t take long for Taylor’s eyes to fall on Zac.  
“Zac?” he automatically tried to lean up.  
“Stay down,” Natalie scorned, pushing gently on his chest again.  
“Hey Tay,” Zac gave Natalie a glance as he shifted around to her side of the bed, “how you feeling?”  
“Been worse,” Taylor looked to Isaac as he stopped at the end, “Zac… I think I met Fowler.”  
“You what?” Zac’s eyed widened.  
“He doesn’t remember much, but it’s coming back in patches,” Natalie warned them.  
“Where did you meet Fowler? Is he here?” Zac frowned, trying not to show his worry.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor admitted with a shake of his head, “he was wherever Connor had me.”  
“Connor?” Isaac looked between them, “what about Seth? Wasn’t he there too?”


	124. 124

“I don’t…” Taylor began to frown before a thoughtful look crossed his face instead, “yeah, he was.”  
“Where?” Zac asked straight away.  
“At the base,” Taylor looked up as he heard heavy boots on the tiles.  
“Base?” Zac was trying to get in before Dekker could appear, “what base? Another base?”  
“Connor’s,” Taylor frowned as he caught sight of Dekker.  
His grip suddenly tightened on Natalie’s hand and she winced a little.  
“But they found Connor’s,” Zac was confused, “it was abandoned.”  
“He had another one,” Taylor got in before Dekker made it to Isaac’s side.  
“Taylor,” he nodded in greeting.  
“Dekker,” he returned, his voice still not very strong but mainly from his sore throat.  
“Can we have a moment alone?” Dekker looked around at his family as Carter appeared over his shoulder.  
“Come on,” Isaac nodded backward, the look on Zac’s face telling him he had no intention of leaving just yet.  
Natalie reluctantly pried her hand away from her husband before putting it on Zac’s back and pushing him forward a little.  
“We’re talking later,” Zac insisted as he relented.  
Taylor just shrugged as his eyes went to Dekker. Dekker waited until they were at least out of earshot before moving around the bed to where Natalie had been standing.  
“Glad to see you awake,” Dekker said honestly as he looked him over.  
Taylor looked to Carter but didn’t say anything to that.  
“And I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to place you under arrest. Again,” Dekker said with authority as he produced some handcuffs he’d taken from a security guard.  
Taylor held back a groan, but he’d known it was coming. Dekker promptly took his right hand and locked the cuff from his wrist to the bed rail.  
“We’re going to have to ask you some questions,” he went on.  
“Go ahead,” Taylor used his left hand to rub his face, “I have nothing to hide. But I don’t remember much either.”  
“The nurses told us you had some amnesia,” Carter offered, “whatever you can manage to tell us is fine.”  
“Can you confirm Private Devon’s story from the Fort Duquesne bridge?” Dekker began.  
“Devon was there?” Taylor’s brow furrowed.  
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Carter smirked as he stood at attention.  
“Is he okay?” Taylor’s eyes darted between them.  
“He’s fine,” Dekker assured, “he’s already back at the Pentagon undergoing his own questioning.”  
Taylor let his head fall back onto the pillow again at that. He couldn’t help but wonder what the heck had happened on the bridge.  
And how Nate had died.  
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Dekker frowned.  
“I was in the car with Nate,” Taylor kept his eyes to the ceiling, “by the river. We were…”  
He frowned as he began to remember spurts of the conversation and the meaning behind it.  
“I think we were saying our goodbyes,” he realised, “we must have known…”  
“No one expected you to make it,” Carter offered, “once again you proved them wrong.”


	125. 125

That didn’t really make Taylor feel any better.  
“Do you remember anything Nate said?” Dekker pressed.  
“In the car?” Taylor confirmed, “nothing specific.”  
He paused for a moment to think.  
“He gave me Krüger’s gun,” he frowned.  
“Do you still have it?”  
Taylor gave Dekker a scornful look.  
“Do I look like I’m armed?” he looked down at his hospital gown incredulously.  
“I mean do you know where it is?” Dekker corrected.  
“How the hell would I know that?” Taylor scorned, “I can’t even remember how Nate died!”  
“Calm down,” the nurse who’d stayed in the room to monitor him insisted.  
“Why did he give you the gun?” Dekker went on unphased, “to defend yourself? Did he know Connor would meet you there?”  
“I still have the tracer in my arm, he probably knew,” Taylor diverted his eyes, “but he gave me the gun to kill myself with.”  
Dekker looked to Carter who just gave him a shrug.  
“Were you planning to?” Dekker asked.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shook his head, “I don’t see why…”  
He paused, staring at the ceiling as flashes of memories continued to plague him.   
“I was already dying,” he realised.  
“It’s true,” Carter offered, “if you hadn’t have gotten the transplant you would have been a goner.”  
Natalie had given Taylor the basic details – that he’d had a kidney transplant – but couldn’t offer him anything on why or how. Somehow he was having a lot of trouble being grateful about it.  
“What about before you made it to Pittsburgh?” Dekker decided they needed a change of subject, “how did Nate find you? How did you get away from Seth, and where did Connor come into it?”  
Taylor frowned as he struggled to remember. He could remember the torture session with Connor just fine, but everything surrounding it was a blur.  
“It was Kadie,” Taylor said thoughtfully, “Kadie said Nate was there. She and Jack got me out. Then he killed her.”  
“Out of where?” Dekker pressed again.  
“They had me chained to a chair, in the base,” Taylor’s brow furrowed, “the last base. Connor wanted to have some fun before…”  
He chewed on his lip, knowing the drugs still in his system were responsible for keeping him pacified.  
“Before my time ran out. And he wanted to know where Nate was, but I didn’t know.”  
“Explains the burns,” Carter looked to Dekker.  
“Where was Seth in this?” Dekker demanded.  
“He was helping Connor,” Taylor gulped slightly, giving the nurse a glance as he was tempted to ask for some water for his throat, “he held me down.”  
“You said you were chained,” Dekker frowned.  
“Only my hands,” Taylor corrected, “could I have some water? Please?”  
The nurse nodded and quickly disappeared.  
“So what happened to…?” Carter began.  
“Seth’s dead,” Taylor revealed as soon as it came to mind, “you can call off the search. He’s dead.”


	126. 126

“How do you know?” Dekker demanded straight away.  
“Connor came after us for it,” Taylor looked up at him.  
“You didn’t see it happen?” Carter asked.  
“No,” Taylor admitted, “but I haven’t seen Connor that angry since Ryan.”  
“Do you know how it happened?” Dekker frowned.  
“I can only speculate,” Taylor rubbed at his eyes again, “Kadie hit him in the chest with a cattle prod Connor was using on me. I guess it must have caused a heart attack. He didn’t follow us, that was all that mattered.”  
“Then how do you know for sure that he died?” Carter shrugged, “maybe Connor was just angry he was hurt?”  
“Connor told us straight that he was dead,” Taylor insisted, “he wanted to know if Nate or I had done it. I told him it was Kadie. She was already dead so he couldn’t get his revenge. He decided to take it out on Nate.”  
He frowned as the memories seemed to come back in a flood.  
“Jack took Connor over the edge,” he remembered.  
“Do you remember where the base was?” Dekker asked.  
Taylor just shook his head as he tried to comprehend both Connor and Seth finally being dead.  
“Can you tell us anything about the location? As insignificant as it might be?”  
“I was restrained when Seth took me in,” Taylor shook his head again, “by the time I got out I was half dead already. I don’t remember anything. It looked like every other base they own.”  
Dekker nodded before looking to Carter.  
“Do you know roughly how long it took to get from there to Pittsburgh?” Carter thought to ask.  
“No,” he responded tiredly.  
The nurse took that moment to return with a paper cup of water. Both Dekker and Carter took a step back as she had to help Taylor sip at it.  
“That will do for now,” Dekker assured when he stopped for a breather, “but I’m sure we’ll come up with more later. And as you remember things…”  
Taylor just gave him a glance, trying not to be condescending about it.  
“Carter will stay here with you until tonight,” Dekker announced, “you’ll be under a constant formal guard, both for your protection and as part of the legal process.”  
“Am I going to jail?” Taylor asked, pretty much off the top of his head.  
“I don’t know,” Dekker admitted, “that’s up to the judge.”  
He gave Carter a nod as he passed, and otherwise left the room without a further word. Taylor sighed and closed his eyes as his head hit the pillow again feeling as if he were finally able to concentrate on the healing process.  
“Your wife should be back soon,” Carter assured as he stepped over to a nearby chair and took a seat.  
Taylor ignored him. He set to trying to remember what had happened to Nate.  
He could remember as far as watching Jack take Connor over the edge. He remembered arguing with Devon, and Nate looking over the edge.  
He remembered making it to Nate’s side and confirming that Connor was gone. That their crusade was over.  
By the time Natalie returned to the room there were already tears in his eyes.


	127. 127

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Isaac smirked sometime the next morning.  
“What, seeing him?” Zac frowned.  
“Yeah,” Isaac nodded, a misplaced grin on his face.  
“…Why?” Zac was already suspicious.  
“Because I’m pretty sure he’s not allowed coffee yet,” Isaac held up his cup for emphasis.  
Zac hesitated as he looked him over, then rolled his eyes and opened the door. Natalie had spent the majority of the night by his side and hadn’t reappeared yet.  
“Carter. Still here?” Isaac nodded to the soldier.  
“Yep,” Carter sighed, “Dekker will be in soon to trade.”  
“Hooray,” Zac drawled, taking up the seat on the other side of Taylor’s bed.  
“Is that coffee?” was the first thing Taylor asked.  
“Told you,” Isaac shot Zac a look.  
“You son of a-“  
“You know this is how the last argument you guys had started,” Zac smirked as he looked Taylor over as if to double check that he was alright.  
Taylor and Isaac gave each other a curious look.  
“Wow,” Taylor realised, “when Ike was at Starbucks in New York? How do you even remember that? It was like a month ago.”  
“Time flies when you’re having fun?” Isaac suggested.  
“So what are your plans for this morning?” Zac asked Taylor, “more interrogation on the horizon?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shrugged, lifting his right hand a little to indicate the cuff still there, “Dekker might want to see if I remember more today but I think we pretty much got it down yesterday.”  
“Do you remember more?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Yeah,” Taylor nodded, “it’s coming back for sure.”  
“Do you remember anything about Fowler?” Zac pressed.  
Taylor sighed, knowing it was important to him.  
“He was calling me up until a couple of days ago,” Zac added, “it was hinted that he was coming to town – to Washington I’d presume. I just want to know…”  
“What he was planning?” Taylor finished for him, “yeah, I get it. But I don’t know how much help I’ll be in that regard.”  
“What do you remember?” Isaac looked curious.  
“He wanted to buy me,” Taylor admitted.  
“You?” Zac’s eyebrows rose, thinking back to when he’d first ‘officially’ met the man, “I guess that makes sense, but…”  
“But Connor wouldn’t let him,” Taylor cut in, “he said it wasn’t worth it because I only had about a day left. Fowler put up a fight but then they took it outside and that’s when Kadie showed up…”  
“Kadie?” Isaac frowned, “blonde Kadie? From Chadron?”  
“Yeah,” Taylor nodded, “she’s the one who got me out of there.”  
“What happened to her then?”  
“Nate killed her,” Taylor admitted, “said she was a liability. I mean Jack was there too…”  
“Jack?” Zac frowned.  
“Yeah, the um…” he indicated his throat with his left hand, “the kid with no voice.”  
“I think we just identified the other body,” Isaac looked to Zac.


	128. 128

“Body?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“They showed us a photo of a guy they pulled from the river with Connor and Nate,” Zac explained, “I didn’t know him but Ike seemed to.”  
“He was the one that let us go from Krüger’s,” Isaac shrugged.  
“That was Jack,” Taylor nodded, “whether or not that was his real name I had no way of knowing.”  
“Should you be writing any of this down?” Zac looked across to a very tired Carter.  
“Dekker will cover it,” Carter shrugged as if he couldn’t care any less.  
“So we still don’t know what happened to Fowler,” Isaac looked to Zac, “we just know that he was with Seth and Connor at… wherever this base was.”  
“I remember Nate saying the base was close to Connor’s other one in Salamanca,” Taylor looked between them, “but close could mean anything. I mean we trekked over the entire country almost.”  
“Maybe he means New York?” Zac suggested, “didn’t one of Fowler’s calls come from Michigan or Ohio or something?”  
“You traced him?” Taylor looked surprised.  
“When they could,” Isaac shrugged, “he didn’t make it easy.”  
“Since when has it ever been easy?” Zac smirked, “but yeah, we worked out he was basically heading for Washington. Whether or not he knows we’re not there anymore is anyone’s guess but I never heard from him again.”  
“Why did they let you come?” Taylor looked between them curiously, “since when were you guys allowed to leave the Pentagon? And how did you even know we were on the bridge?”  
Zac and Isaac shared another awkward look before Zac leant forward.  
“We did what you suggested to Devon,” he admitted, “we found – or rather they found – the phone you were talking about. We found the tracer program.”  
“The EMP didn’t work,” Isaac put in.  
“As soon as we worked out where you were we made a pretty convincing case that we should come with,” Zac shrugged, “especially since Devon was already off the case.”  
“I wasn’t sure if Devon would have even gotten the suggestion through before he left,” Taylor shook his head.  
All four looked up as the door opened again, Natalie appearing through it looking worse for wear.  
“Did you get any sleep?” Taylor looked worried.  
“A little,” Natalie assured as she closed the door and made her way to the bed – Isaac standing back a little for her, “you made the morning news.”  
“What?” Taylor looked worried.  
“I don’t know if he’s ready for that,” Isaac cautioned as Natalie went for the television remote.  
“No I want to see it,” Taylor insisted as she turned it on anyway.  
When the anchor appeared it was just in time for them to mention that they ‘finally’ had the story behind what had caused the major traffic jam on the Fort Duquesne bridge the day before and it would be coming up shortly.  
“How did they get it?” Taylor looked across to Carter, “who would have talked?”  
“Beats me,” Carter shrugged, “no one on our side.”  
“They might have gotten into the surveillance feeds from the bridge,” Isaac suggested, “who really knows with the media?”  
“I’m only surprised it took this long,” Zac’s eyes were glued to the screen.


	129. 129

_”…and with a warning that some viewers may find the following footage disturbing…”_  
“It’s definitely surveillance,” Isaac said aloud as they watched the footage on screen of the confrontation between Taylor, Nate, Connor, Devon, Jack and the nameless guard.  
It was from a way back but they could still make out who was who.  
Natalie felt Taylor flinch when they saw Connor stepping toward him.  
“Bringing back anything?” Zac looked to his brother.  
“I remember this,” Taylor admitted, eyes not leaving the screen.  
Natalie – who still had hold of the remote – turned the volume down so they could concentrate on the footage rather than the speculation the reporter was spurting.   
“What was he saying?” Isaac asked curiously.  
“He wanted to know who’d killed Seth,” Taylor explained, “I told him it was Kadie and then Nate admits to killing her… that’s when he goes for him.”  
They all watched as Connor attacked Nate before asking Jack to hand him the gun. This soon progressed to Devon attacking Jack and getting the gun, while Nate had gone for Connor in the distraction.  
“Damn,” Zac couldn’t take his eyes away.  
“Go Devon,” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
Natalie jumped as Carter suddenly appeared behind her, but continued to watch as Nate and Connor fought and Taylor yelled at Devon. The footage skipped what the newscasters obviously thought were the boring parts and they soon saw Jack take Connor over the edge.  
“Holy… wow,” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“At least you’ve got concrete evidence on what happened,” Zac looked to Carter.  
“Damn straight,” Carter agreed, “now what about Nate?”  
Taylor gulped slightly, knowing what was coming. As everyone watched the two of them looking over the edge after Devon turned away, Taylor closed his eyes when he saw Nate climbing over.  
“You okay?” Natalie gave his hand a squeeze.  
Taylor just nodded, not opening his eyes again. Natalie looked to the screen in time to see Isaac and Zac appear to try and pull Nate back, but fail.  
“So you were all there,” Carter realised.  
“Yeah,” Zac admitted, scratching at his head.  
Natalie turned the television off again, knowing it was upsetting her husband. When he heard the zap he opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling.  
“Dekker’s going to want you all back at the Pentagon,” Carter shook his head.  
“We’re not going anywhere,” Zac put his foot down straight away.  
“He can interview us here,” Isaac insisted, “but we’re not leaving Tay.”  
“You can’t stay here forever,” Taylor said in a vacant tone, making Natalie squeeze his hand again.  
“We can try,” Zac scorned before turning his attention back to Carter, “how long do they think until he can be transferred?”  
“From what I heard? About a week,” Carter shrugged, “give or take.”  
“We can handle a week,” Zac assured.  
“Doing what?” Taylor frowned, “just standing around waiting for me to get better?”  
“That about sums it up, yeah,” Zac shot a look over his shoulder.  
“Why?” Taylor didn’t lose the look, “it doesn’t make sense. You should go.”


	130. 130

“It doesn’t make sense?” Zac’s eyebrows rose, Natalie looking to the door as Dekker finally appeared for the morning shift.  
“No,” Taylor insisted, “you should be spending this time with your families. Lord knows you’ve earned it.”  
“Have you forgotten Paris so soon?!” Zac scorned, “you were left alone for _minutes_ and that was all it took!”  
“Have you forgotten that they’re all dead?” Taylor hit straight back, knowing very well that it was a lie but not ready for them to know that.  
“We don’t know that for sure,” Zac insisted, “what if you missed something? Or someone? Did Nate know about Davison?”  
“Yeah, actually he did.”  
“What’s going on?” Dekker frowned, looking between them.  
“They don’t want to go back to DC,” Carter shrugged, making Dekker roll his eyes.  
“I don’t _want_ to leave you,” Natalie looked Taylor in the eye assuredly, “but someone needs to get back to the kids, and it won’t be you.”  
Taylor hesitated but lowered his eyes at that.   
“I don’t mind going,” Isaac offered, “I can keep an eye on the kids for you guys if you want?”  
“You’re going?” Zac turned on him.  
“He doesn’t need five of us watching him,” Isaac shook his head, “and he’s right. We’ve got other responsibilities.”  
“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t ask you to watch all of them,” Natalie shook her own head.  
“You’re all going back,” Dekker announced suddenly, garnering everyone bar Taylor’s attention, “whether you like it or not. We still have legal issues to address and two out of three of you are witnesses to the bridge incident.”  
“Everyone’s a witness now,” Zac indicated the television, “CNN just broadcast it to the world.”  
“Firsthand, then,” Dekker corrected with a glare.  
“See?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “you don’t have a choice anyhow.”  
“When?” Zac demanded.  
“Today, hopefully,” Dekker shot Carter a glance, “I’ll try and organise a flight for this evening.”  
“Today?!”  
“Zac – if we have to, we have to,” Isaac insisted, “there’s no point arguing about it.”  
“And you’re seriously okay with being left here by yourself?” Zac looked to Taylor.  
Taylor raised his cuffed hand again.  
“I’m not going anywhere,” his eyebrows rose, “I’ll be fine.”  
“Yeah well not going anywhere means you can’t run either,” Zac pointed out.  
“I don’t think he’ll be running anywhere for at least a week,” Natalie assured in a cautious tone, not really wanting to get in on the argument.  
“So if anything _does_ happen, it’s up to these two to watch out for me anyway,” Taylor indicated Dekker and Carter.  
“Because that worked so well when Devon and Haddon were watching me,” Zac rolled his eyes.  
“We’ll call in reinforcements if it makes you feel better,” Carter smirked.  
“We can leave Whyte here for one,” Dekker agreed.  
“Then how about we agree to leave once the replacements get here?” Zac suggested.


	131. 131

It was as close to a compromise as they were going to get and Dekker knew it. He finally relented. As Carter left to get some sleep after his watch he was told to inform Whyte on the way out that he’d been the chosen one to stay behind. Barely moments after Carter left, one of the nurses who’d been minding Taylor the day before returned.  
“Excuse me please, we’re going to need some privacy,” she announced on her way in.  
She paused at the end of the bed as Isaac passed behind her, staring for a moment at the cuff on Taylor’s wrist.  
“That will need to come off,” she insisted, looking to Dekker.  
“Not happening,” Dekker insisted.  
Zac looked between the two, not bothering to move yet. He wanted to see the byplay. Natalie had said a quick goodbye to Taylor and followed Isaac to the door.  
“I need to get him on his feet,” the nurse insisted, “I can’t do that if he’s restrained.”  
“You know I’m not going anywhere,” Taylor almost scorned, “and you’re not going anywhere, right?”  
Dekker eyed him for a moment before looking to Zac.  
“You heard her,” he cleared his throat as he went for the key to the cuffs, “close the door behind you.”  
Zac’s eyes narrowed, but he silently gave Taylor a last glance before doing as Dekker said.   
“Think we should stay nearby?” Isaac asked him once he was out, ignoring the footsteps he already heard coming down the hall behind them.  
“Where else are we gonna go?” Zac shrugged, looking up as Jenkins and Monroe made their way down to them.  
“Well I want coffee,” Natalie insisted, “so if you want to join me…”  
“Did you see the news?” Monroe cut in as the two soldiers joined the trio of Hansons.  
“Sure did,” Zac pursed his lips.  
“Primetime and all,” Monroe smirked.  
“We didn’t hear it,” Isaac admitted, “do they know where we are now?”  
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they started checking the closest hospitals,” Monroe shrugged.  
“Great,” Zac folded his arms, “just what we need. The circus.”  
“We still have guards posted,” Jenkins assured, “if the Creeds can’t get through, the press won’t get through.”  
“Dekker said he wants us to leave as soon as reinforcements arrive to watch over Taylor,” Natalie looked worried, “how are we going to get out if they’re trying to get in?”  
Zac smirked.  
“Nat, you of all people know this isn’t our first rodeo,” he mused, “just think of them as a bunch of crazy fans. I think we’ll make it.”  
“There is always the possibility that someone with less pure intention will pose as a member of the press, even just to get to you as you leave,” Jenkins considered, “but we’ll have the armoured vehicles on standby and transport you as usual.”  
“Now I feel like cargo,” Isaac mused, “Tay’s pretty sure all the bad guys are dead, but…”  
“I’d take that with a grain of salt,” Zac shook his head, “he was pretty out of it to begin with. He didn’t even remember _Nate_ dying at first. We also know Davison can’t have been the only one in a position of influence, and we still haven’t found the military mole.”  
“Mole?” Natalie’s eyebrows rose.


	132. 132

“Someone had to help Seth escape,” Zac pointed out as Jenkins cleared his throat.  
“It’s an open investigation,” he intercepted, “and perhaps one best not discussed out in the open.”  
“Sorry,” Zac looked sheepish, “we’ve just had so much trouble trying to figure out who it is.”  
“And Davison came completely out of left field,” Isaac agreed, “I did _not_ see that one coming.”  
“No one did,” Natalie agreed.  
Monroe was about to respond when a crackle came through his radio. When Zac heard what it had said, he groaned.  
“Copy that,” Monroe received.  
“Transfers?” Jenkins guessed.  
“The boys are due in tonight. Looks like we’ll be heading back on their flight,” Monroe confirmed.  
“Tonight?” Natalie’s eyebrows rose, “that was fast.”  
“They don’t mess around,” Isaac put his hands on his hips, “do they have an ETA?”  
“Seven,” Monroe nodded, “so I’d say your goodbyes at the end of visiting hours and we’ll head on out. Hopefully half the press will have given up by then.”  
“Wishful thinking?” Zac smirked.  
Monroe just shrugged.  
“Technically it _is_ yesterday’s news already,” Isaac mused.  
“There’s always the determined few,” Zac shook his head.  
“So what’s happening in there?” Monroe indicated Taylor’s door.  
“The nurse wanted to get him up,” Natalie replied softly, “to try and get him walking again.”  
“Right,” Monroe nodded.  
“Maybe we’ll get him back in less than a week?” Isaac hoped out loud.  
“Wouldn’t hold my breath,” Zac shook his head.  
“Anyway…” Natalie stepped to the side a little, “as much fun as it is to stand here and speculate, I still haven’t had my morning coffee so…”  
“We can send someone to get one for you,” Jenkins offered.  
“Thanks,” Natalie didn’t even consider it, “but I need the walk anyhow.”  
“I’ll come with,” Isaac offered, automatically nominating Monroe as well, “Zac?”  
“I’m gonna hang here,” he shrugged, “I kinda want to get in as much time with Tay as I can before we leave.”  
Isaac hesitated at that, before remembering he was still trying to work out what was happening with Fowler. With a nod he began leading Natalie and Monroe away.  
“Call me if anything comes up,” he called back.  
“Will do,” Zac promised before looking at Jenkins.  
Jenkins returned the look, though they were silent until the other three disappeared from sight.  
“Who do you think it is?” Zac’s eyes narrowed.  
“The mole?” Jenkins confirmed.  
“Yeah,” Zac nodded, “you must have your suspicions. Or a hunch, or something. You work with these guys on a fulltime basis.”  
Jenkins hesitated with a sigh, but shook his head.  
“Anything I’d suggest would be purely guesswork,” he admitted, “but I don’t believe it was anyone working the case directly. I just don’t see it.”


	133. 133

True to their word the soldiers arrived at the hospital by 7pm. Reluctantly Isaac, Zac and Natalie all had to say goodbye to Taylor and head out to the armoured vehicles which took them straight back to the airport and then back to the Pentagon. By the time they arrived back the kids were already in bed and Devon had been in another interview, so they’d all retired themselves to be ready for their own (in Isaac and Zac’s cases) interviews the following morning.  
Taylor had two further Q&A sessions with Dekker that day, who didn’t manage to get much more out of him. Regardless of the temporary amnesia from the surgery wearing off he wasn’t able to remember anything that would have helped them find the last base. Dekker ended up putting in a call to Haddon to request that he try and trace Nate’s car back from PNC park to wherever he’d come from, and that became Haddon’s mission for the following few days. With Dekker, Carter and Whyte all stationed in Pittsburgh until Taylor could be transferred back to Washington, the only real help Haddon would have was Jenkins and they were soon back to their routine of swapping surveillance shifts. Occasionally Isaac or Zac would pop in to see how things were going – and Zac sometime just to keep Haddon company for a while – but they both found other ways to keep themselves busy during the week.  
Taylor on the other hand, within two days, had a visitor.

*

Taylor’s eyes flew to her feet when she entered the room. She wore black stilettos and a skirt suit, somewhat reminiscent of Ramirez the day he’d first met her.  
“I hope I’m not intruding,” she looked to Dekker, holding a file close to her chest as she shook some dark hair out of her eyes, “Private Yates told me I could speak with Mr Hanson?”  
Dekker pulled himself to his feet as Taylor watched between the two.  
“If you don’t mind I’d rather not leave the room,” Dekker had his game face on, which told Taylor it had to be official business.  
“That’s fine,” the woman assured, reaching back to close the door behind her.  
Dekker took up his seat again as she moved over to Taylor’s bed, offering him an awkward smile as she made her way to the chair on the opposite side.  
“Are you a lawyer?” Taylor was evidently confused as to her part.  
“What gives you that impression?” she asked as she sat down, leaving the file on her lap and dropping her handbag to her side.  
Taylor shrugged.  
“Just your vibe?” he guessed, “and if you’re not a lawyer then…”  
“I am a lawyer,” she confirmed with a smile, “but I’m not yours.”  
“Okay…” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“Taylor… if you don’t mind me calling you Taylor?”  
He shrugged again.  
“I’ll cut to the chase for you. My name is Jennifer Coulter. But that’s not the name I was born with. I was born Dale Devereux.”  
Taylor blanched. He’d sensed something familiar about her, and he now realised it had been certain features. Like her eyes.  
“You’re Nate’s sister?” he asked cautiously.  
“I am,” she confirmed, her eyes lowering, “the army contacted me in the event of my brother’s death. I flew in to Pittsburgh as soon as I had a free moment.”


	134. 134

“Nate told my brother that he had a sister,” Taylor was shaking his head in confusion, “but he thought you were dead, I’m sure of it. Or he would have looked for you.”  
“I know he would have,” Jennifer nodded, “but I didn’t want him to.”  
“You didn’t want to find your brother?” Taylor looked incredulous.  
“Taylor the first thing I heard about my brother after he was taken was that he’d murdered two young girls in cold blood purely because he’d ‘felt like it at the time’,” Jennifer tried to explain, “my brother wasn’t someone who I particularly wanted to be associated with. Along with the fact that I changed my name for a reason.”  
Taylor diverted his eyes as he thought that over. He knew she was talking about the girls in Ardmore, and he knew Nate’s side of the story. He hadn’t particularly considered anyone else’s point of view.  
“I knew why he was taken,” Jennifer went on when Taylor was silent for a time, “and I knew they also would come after me.”  
Taylor nodded at that.  
“And they would have killed you if they’d found you,” he assured.  
“I know,” she nodded, “until now I didn’t really know the extent of what we’d been involved in. I did see you and your brother Isaac on the news of course but I hadn’t connected the dots with Nate until now.”  
“I dropped his name in the Blitzer interview,” Taylor frowned, “I remember because Seth had it in for me after that.”  
“I didn’t see that interview,” Jennifer admitted, “or I may have seen parts of it. Like I said, I didn’t really believe the hype.”  
“Why are you here?” Taylor cut in, giving her an odd look, “I mean I appreciate meeting you, for sure, but… are you here to claim the body? Did someone tell you to come talk to me?”  
“I had to come and finish some paperwork,” Jennifer gave the file on her lap a pat, “and I asked to meet you. I wanted to meet the recipient for myself.”  
Taylor did a double take. He looked across at Dekker – he was frowning – before turning back to clarify.  
“Recipient?” his eyebrows rose.  
“Yes,” Jennifer stared him in the eye, “I believe you received my brother’s kidney. Apparently it saved your life.”  
Taylor’s breath caught in his throat.  
He waited until he got it back – swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat – before pushing himself up on the bed slightly.  
“It was Nate’s?” his brow furrowed, as if trying to make sense of it.  
Jennifer nodded, looking as if she’d already been aware that she’d be the first to tell him.  
Taylor turned away and pulled on the cuff, closing his eyes as he remembered the last time Nate had put him in cuffs. He had to wipe his eyes and compose himself before he could turn back.  
“Nate wanted nothing more than to keep me alive,” he couldn’t help a small chuckle, “and he’s doing it even in death.”  
“Well I’m glad to hear that,” Jennifer didn’t look sure, “and I’m glad to know he had a positive effect on someone at least. I admit I’d utterly written him off.”  
Taylor smirked at that, but he didn’t want to correct her. Nate deserved at least some of her respect.  
“Can you tell me a little about him?” Jennifer asked with curiosity in her eyes.


	135. 135

“I knew it,” Zac held back a groan.  
“Are you okay with it?” Natalie asked worriedly.  
“I guess I have to be,” they could see Taylor shrug through the video screen, “but yeah, I think it’s had time to settle in.”  
Isaac had managed to buy him a prepaid cell phone to use while he was in hospital, until he could get back to Washington to retrieve his own. So far he’d only used it to call Natalie that morning and now tonight to give them the news.  
“I can’t believe his sister’s actually alive,” Isaac shook his head, “I mean I guess I can, but I just assumed if she were that she’d be…”  
“Let’s say incapacitated,” Zac smirked.  
“Guys?” Taylor caught their attention, “can I talk to Nat alone for a minute?”  
“Sure,” Zac nodded, getting up from where he’d been sitting on the edge of her bed.  
“We need to go and tuck the kids in anyway,” Isaac assured, “’night Tay!”  
“Goodnight guys,” Taylor called, hoping Zac had been close enough to hear.  
“Goodnight Nat,” Zac gave her a wave before they both left the room and headed back to their own quarters.  
“That actually makes sense,” Isaac nodded.  
“What does?” Zac looked across at him as they walked, “I mean I get that maybe Nate wasn’t dead when they pulled him from the river after all, but…”  
“Nate being a match for Taylor,” Isaac clarified, “it actually makes a few things make sense.”  
Zac just gave him a confused look, prompting him to go on.  
“The blood?” Isaac hinted.  
“What, the blood that Nate stole?” Zac looked slightly sick at the thought, “you think Nate knew?”  
“He had to, somehow,” Isaac shrugged, “when we were at the cabin he gave Tay his first transfusion, right? Where did he get the blood from then? He wouldn’t just have a fridge sitting there full of Tay’s blood type ‘just in case’.”  
“You think he gave Tay his own?” Zac considered.  
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” Isaac smirked.  
Zac stopped in his tracks and snapped his fingers.  
“Then when he took it in Paris, he needed it himself,” he looked his brother in the eye.  
“Exactly,” Isaac agreed, “I just don’t know how he would have known this to begin with.”  
Zac’s eyes lowered as he thought it over. After a moment he absently rubbed his arm.  
“I do,” he admitted.  
“How?” Isaac frowned, taking a quick look either way down the corridor to be sure they were alone.  
“When we were first abducted,” Zac kept his voice low regardless, “Tay doesn’t remember because they knocked him out, but they didn’t want to give me any drugs until they knew what meds I was on. I was awake for the whole thing.”  
“What thing?”  
“Tests,” Zac’s eyes narrowed, “they took blood tests, urine, semen… you get the idea. It wasn’t pretty. I guess to see if we had any diseases or anything that would inhibit a sale.”  
Isaac took a moment to digest that. With a sigh he ran his fingers through his fringe.  
“Krüger didn’t do any of that,” he admitted, “not to me anyway.”  
“With you he wouldn’t have had time,” Zac pointed out, “but with us? He had plenty.”


	136. 136

“You’re not okay, are you?” Natalie frowned.  
Taylor sighed and rubbed his neck, hoping the darkness in the hospital ward would help mask the look on his face.  
“Not really, no,” he admitted eventually, “but I have no one to talk to about it.”  
“You can talk to me,” Natalie frowned, “you know that’s kinda what I’m here for…”  
“But you don’t know,” Taylor shook his head, “you didn’t know him, and you weren’t there when-“  
“So tell me,” Natalie cut him off insistently, “I won’t know unless you tell me. But if you need to talk, and if you want to talk, I _am_ here for you.”  
Taylor paused at that, his mind racing. He wasn’t sure he was ready for Natalie to know everything just yet.   
He wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about any of it just yet.  
“I’m just confused,” he admitted with a quick glance across at Carter.  
The soldier was watching the television, trying his best not to intrude on their conversation though Taylor knew he heard everything clearly.  
“What about?” Natalie tried not to press but still encourage.  
“About Nate,” Taylor’s brow furrowed, “about what he would have wanted.”  
Natalie paused on her end to take a deep breath. She’d been well warned that Taylor had been diagnosed with Stockholm syndrome by the Pentagon doctor, but she was still having trouble coming to terms with Taylor returning to her with such a different perspective on Nate than he’d always had before.  
“What do you think he wanted?” she asked carefully, hoping she wasn’t treading on dangerous ground.  
“I think he wanted me to die on the bridge,” Taylor replied, sending a chill down Natalie’s spine, “or rather, I think… He knew that I was dying, and that’s the only reason he went over. He only wanted to die because he thought that I was. If he’d known I was going to be saved then I think he’d still be here.”  
“But you wouldn’t,” Natalie cut in, “the only reason you’re still here is _because_ he died.”  
“I know,” Taylor ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to get worked up.  
“I thought that all Nate ever wanted was to keep you… alive?” Natalie had been about to say ‘safe’ and had to correct herself.  
“It was,” Taylor agreed, “right up until the end. But when he realised it was pointless, he gave up himself.”  
“Taylor, what are you considering?” Natalie had to ask, “are you not grateful for what he’s given you?”  
“Of course I am,” Taylor was looking away from the screen, “but I know that Nate wanted me with him. Either here, or… not.”  
“Well believe it or not, we want you here too,” Natalie was getting upset, “and there’s six of us Tay. There was only one of him.”  
“I know,” Taylor bit his lip.  
“Do you?” Natalie’s eyebrows rose, “because I don’t think you do. You have _no idea_ what this has put the kids through, because you haven’t been here to see it! And all I can keep telling them is that their Dad will be home soon. That’s all they have to hold onto right now. It’s all _I_ have to hold onto right now. So mark my words Taylor Hanson you’d better be coming home to us or else.”


	137. 137

“We got it!” Jenkins suddenly announced a moment before Haddon had been preparing to take over his shift.  
“You’re kidding,” Isaac’s eyes were on the screen.  
“Have to admit, didn’t think we’d find it,” Haddon stepped away and went to retrieve a headset.  
Isaac pulled his cell phone and quickly called Zac.  
“Andrews,” Haddon said into the set, “tell him we’ve found it.”  
“I’ve got Salamanca on the line,” Jenkins looked across to him, waiting for Haddon’s response.  
“Zac, hey,” Isaac turned away so as not to interrupt, “get down to surveillance, they found Connor’s base.”  
“Be right there!”  
“Andrews it’s Haddon,” Isaac turned back in time for Haddon’s call to connect, “Creed’s final base is located in Wirt, New York. Just under an hour east of Salamanca. Requesting permission to send that crew across immediately.”  
Haddon waited for Andrews’ response, before nodding to himself.  
“Affirmative. We’ll have boots on the ground asap.”  
He turned to Jenkins.  
“Go!”  
“We have confirmation, go ahead,” Jenkins said into his own headset, “sending you the coordinates now.”  
After a tense moment of silence in the room, Jenkins looked up.  
“ETA one hour,” he confirmed.  
“Finally,” Haddon removed his headset and set it aside again, “let’s just hope it’s in one piece still.”  
“It doesn’t look like they’ve managed to bomb it,” Isaac offered, going by the satellite view of the building on screen.  
“This is still on a delay,” Jenkins pointed out, “but if we’re right in hoping that everyone’s dead? There shouldn’t be anyone left to stop us moving in.”  
“We’ll soon find out,” Haddon shrugged as the door opened behind them.  
“What’d I miss?” Zac’s eyes glued to the screen instantly.  
“They’re sending the team from Salamanca over,” Isaac turned to him.  
“So it was nearby after all?” Zac looked between them.  
“Just under an hour away,” Haddon confirmed, “small town called Wirt. If you can even call it a town.”  
“And it’s still standing?”  
“As far as we know,” Jenkins nodded, “I’ve updated the feeds and everything seems kosher.”  
“There shouldn’t be anyone left to get in their way,” Isaac added.  
“Except Fowler,” Zac gave him a worried look, “he’s the one constant everyone keeps forgetting about, and no one knows where he is.”  
“They went back and questioned Nigel, right?” Isaac gave Haddon a frown.  
“They did,” he nodded, “apparently he started going on about how his father was obsessed with this idea of the perfect family or some rot. They couldn’t get much sense out of him.”  
Zac grimaced, knowing what he was talking about firsthand. It would have made sense to him.  
“ETA?” he asked.  
“Just under an hour,” Isaac offered him a reassuring look.


	138. 138

“Talk to me,” Haddon said into his earpiece.  
The views from three different helmet cameras were onscreen, along with a heat signature map of the complex. They couldn’t see any signatures that didn’t belong to soldiers, but that didn’t mean there weren’t people underground.  
Isaac, Zac, Jenkins and Monroe all stood in the room with their eyes glued to the screen. Every now and then they’d dart a look across at Haddon who was in control of the laptop.  
“About to go in,” Haddon’s reply came over the speakers in the room.  
“Roger that,” Haddon confirmed, clicking away to keep track of where they were.  
Zac focused on the lower square on screen. The soldier seemed to be the closest to a door. He was concentrating on the background of the camera view so hard that when the soldier did finally break through the door, it made him jump – and Isaac smirk.  
“Go! Go! Go!” someone was heard yelling as the entire team (or what they could see of it) made their way into the building.  
They separated and made their way down the parallel halls, some going left and some going right. No cameras covered those going to the bottom right, but Haddon still had their heat signatures to follow from the air.  
So far they were simply following rows of cells, a lot of them with obvious bloodstains over the walls and floor. Each open door was checked but there were no bodies or other evidence aside from the blood so the soldiers quickly moved on.  
The soldier manning the top left camera was the first to hit the training room on the other side.  
“Two deceased!” he announced, a moment before someone from another camera announced “single deceased, female.”  
Isaac frowned as he tried to concentrate. Zac would have stepped forward if he hadn’t earlier been warned not to.  
“Who are they?” Jenkins said under his breath as the soldiers already in the training room began scoping the area out.  
“That’s Kadie,” Isaac suddenly pointed to the top screen a moment before that soldier instructed his partner to stay while he moved on.  
“Tay did say Nate killed her,” Zac was watching the others.  
“Two deceased males,” the soldier Zac was watching announced as he finally made it to the other side of the room.  
Zac visibly flinched as the flashlight on the soldier’s rifle landed on one of them.  
“What is it?” Isaac grabbed his arm as Zac turned away.  
“It’s Fowler,” Zac confirmed.  
“Looks like he’s been there a while,” Monroe’s eyebrows rose.  
“Give us eyes on the other one,” Haddon commanded.  
The soldier immediately stepped aside. As the body was halfway through a doorway, he had to step over the body to see the face.  
“Seth?!” both Isaac and Monroe exclaimed, making Zac turn back.  
“Holy crap,” Zac looked between them, “Tay was right.”  
“Clear!” came a call from the third helmet camera.  
“That’s it,” Haddon looked up for the first time, “no one else in the building.”  
“He did it,” Zac looked to his brother, “he actually finished it.”


	139. 139

Taylor looked up as the truck finally came to a halt. Dekker immediately got to his feet, going to hit the back doors to signal that they could be opened.  
“On your feet,” Carter instructed, standing himself.  
Taylor looked up before pulling himself gingerly to his feet. It had been hard getting into the van, and he could only imagine how hard it would be getting out.  
Taking care to hold him so that his stitches wouldn’t pull, both Carter and Whyte took hold of his arms to help him down. The handcuffs didn’t make it easy but Taylor wasn’t about to complain.  
Once he was out he was led back into the Pentagon through where Seth had taken him out. He was taken back to the very same holding cells, and placed inside the one he’d called home before.  
Dekker came in with him as Whyte and Carter got him settled onto the bed. They removed his cuffs and made sure he was comfortable before leaving themselves.  
“I’ll need to debrief Andrews on your condition,” Dekker announced as Taylor shifted himself, “but I will inform you what I can as soon as possible.”  
“Okay,” Taylor simply blinked, not bothering to even look at him.  
“We will station the doctor on duty nearby in case he’s needed,” Dekker assured, “just let your guard know if anything happens.”  
“Okay,” Taylor said again, eyes to the ceiling.  
Dekker sighed to himself before turning to leave.  
“Someone will be in with your dinner shortly. You know the drill,” he said before closing and locking the cell door.  
Taylor didn’t bother replying to that. He was already trying to work out in his head how long it would take before he could see his family.  
“Oh…” Dekker caught his attention, “and there should be a lawyer in to see you either tomorrow or the next day.”  
That made Taylor finally look across at him.  
“Good luck,” was all Dekker offered before turning to leave the area.  
Taylor watched him go before looking across to his chosen guard. Seeing that it had been Whyte he calmed slightly, opting to close his eyes and try and catch some sleep.  
It had been a rough week in the hospital but his recovery had been steady. He’d managed to stay in contact with Natalie every day and often with his brothers, but now that he was in official custody he knew that privilege would cease.  
He’d seen Jennifer twice more as she’d stayed in Pittsburgh to finalise her brother’s cremation, but she’d returned to her home – wherever that had been – the day before Taylor had left himself.  
He’d heard from Isaac two days earlier that the bodies of Seth, Kadie and Fowler had been found. With the bulk of the case now over and done with Devon had returned to work, but he was still kept from getting involved with anything to do with the Creeds and that meant he couldn’t get involved with Taylor’s case.  
With some prime contributors including Nigel and Hudson still in custody, everyone was predicting a long and drawn-out legal process ahead. But regardless of that Taylor had found it much easier to sleep at night with the confirmation that all bodies had been found both from the river and from Wirt.  
“Everything okay?” his eyes opened when he heard Whyte’s voice.  
“It’s okay,” he offered a short smile in return before closing his eyes again.


	140. 140

“Sorry I’m late,” Zac ducked into the room, quickly closing the door behind him.  
A man in a grey suit who’d been sitting opposite Natalie stood to extend his hand.  
“Jonathan Hines,” he introduced himself.  
“Zac Hanson,” Zac gave him a nod before taking a seat beside Natalie.  
She gave him a short smile before focusing her attention back on Mr Hines.  
“As I was saying to Mrs Hanson…”  
“Natalie’s fine,” she assured.  
“Natalie…” he began fiddling with paperwork, “Taylor hasn’t been officially charged with anything yet, but they certainly have the grounds to go all the way. He has already admitted to the deaths of six people that we know of-“  
“Tay was diagnosed with Stockholm,” Zac cut in straight away, “he wasn’t doing it of his own free will.”  
“I get that,” Hines nodded already annoyed at being interrupted, “but this is working on the basis that your brother is declared fit to stand trial. The military have provided a doctor that will evaluate his psyche and inform us either way.”  
“What if he isn’t?” Zac asked.  
“Then the judge will take that into account and put him into a program that suits his needs.”  
“You mean a mental hospital,” Natalie tried to confirm.  
“Or the like, yes,” Hines nodded, “but if he is declared fit to stand trial then it will carry on as per usual. I’ve already had words with the lawyer who’ll be answering for the state – his name is Mason Howell – and they are confident that if his case so much as sets foot in a courtroom they will be able to secure the death penalty.”  
“What?” Natalie gasped.  
“No way,” Zac scowled instantly, “Tay didn’t go out there to murder people! And those that did die under his hand were hardly innocent bystanders!”  
“Zac,” Natalie took hold of his arm, trying to keep him from going overboard.  
“You can’t let that happen,” Zac focused on Hines.  
“We’re going to try not to,” he insisted.  
“You’re gonna do more than try!”  
“Are you trying to tell us…” Natalie began carefully, “that Taylor is either crazy, or dead?”  
Hines shrugged.  
“Not necessarily,” he tried to assure, “but his best chance of getting acquittal is to be declared not mentally capable.”  
“ _This_ is insane,” Zac slapped the table before sitting back.  
“You’re not helping,” Natalie shot him a look.  
“When’s the doctor seeing him?” Zac demanded, “is it the same one as last time? Because he already said Stockholm.”  
“I’m not sure,” Hines shook his head, “but the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.”  
“And we’ll know more then?”  
Hines nodded, and Zac looked to Natalie.  
“Until then we need to gather any piece of evidence in Taylor’s favour,” Hines went on, “including character references, evidence of what he went through, and of his connection with Nate.”  
“That shouldn’t be too hard,” Zac insisted.


	141. 141

“Mr Hanson,” the doctor greeted as he walked into interrogation.  
“Doctor Perkins,” Taylor nodded, “we meet again.”  
“That we do,” the doctor took a seat as Dekker closed the door behind them.  
Taylor shifted in his seat, wincing a little as his side ached.  
“I hear that Nathan Devereux has passed away,” Perkins opened his files as Dekker set the recorder on the table, “can I ask how that makes you feel?”  
Taylor rolled his eyes. They certainly weren’t beating around the bush.  
“I don’t know,” he shook his head.  
“You don’t know?” the doctor’s eyebrows rose as he clicked his pen, “have you grieved for him?”  
“Of course,” Taylor frowned, eyes falling to his cuffs.  
“And how did you grieve?” the doctor asked curiously, “as you would for a parent? A brother?”  
“No,” Taylor’s frown deepened, “like I said, I don’t know.”  
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks, I get that,” Perkins tried to sympathise, “but you need to be honest with me for your own good. There’s a lot riding on this interview, I think you know as well as I do.”  
“I can’t tell you what I don’t know,” Taylor’s brow furrowed, “am I upset that he’s gone? Yes. Do I feel lost without him? Yes. Have I considered taking my own life? Yes, I have. But I still have that voice in my head that tells me there’s more to life.”  
He shook his head as he tried to word it without sounding crazy.  
“I’ve been in contact with my wife and my brothers, and it’s kept me on the level. I know that Nate wasn’t the be-all and end-all…”  
He trailed off, looking to the side almost dreamily.  
“But he still had a lot of control over me. And I think being in custody is the only thing keeping me sane right now.”  
“You feel you need the restriction?” Perkins tried to understand.  
“Yeah,” Taylor looked like he was holding back the tears, “and I hate it. I absolutely hate it.”  
He stopped to rub his face, trying to pull himself together. Perkins gave Dekker a glance.  
“How often did Nate keep you restrained, Taylor?”  
“As often as he could,” Taylor almost smirked, “but not much toward the end.”  
“Then where do you think this has come from?” Perkins wanted to give Taylor a chance to piece it together for himself.  
Taylor’s eyes darted across the table as his hands clasped together in front of his face.  
“I’ve had people controlling me for so long,” he said in a low voice, “I just don’t know what it feels like to be free anymore.”  
“And yet you continually fought for freedom,” Dekker cut in, “in fact you told us the whole reason you went on your crusade with Nate was to stop the whole thing. Stop it happening to anyone else.”  
“Until I gave in,” Taylor locked eyes with him, “when I decided to go with Nate – when he said that he would help me – I gave in to it.”  
“Gave into what, exactly?” Perkins was writing.  
“Slavery,” Taylor offered, “I gave in to slavery. I was Nate’s.”  
He gulped and closed his eyes as he processed what he was saying, Dekker shifting in his seat.  
“And before Nate I was Connor’s. Before Connor, Krüger’s. Before Krüger, Ramirez. I’ve been a slave for a long time, I just didn’t fully realise it.”


	142. 142

“Zac’s on his way,” Isaac assured as he met with Natalie in the corridor.  
She had her arms folded across her chest defensively. They were about to meet with Taylor’s doctor for his verdict on the interview that morning.  
“Are you okay?” Isaac asked when he didn’t get a response.  
“I’m fine,” Natalie offered a fake smile, “I just want it over.”  
“This is Mrs Hanson.”  
They both turned to Dekker’s voice coming from the opposite direction. He’d arrived with the doctor.  
“Just waiting on Zac,” Isaac insisted.  
“Good afternoon,” the doctor addressed Natalie, “I’m Dr Perkins, and I’ve been speaking with Taylor.”  
“Hey,” was all she got out.  
“Shall we?” he indicated the room behind them.  
Natalie gave Isaac a glance before stepping through. Hines was already in the room waiting.  
“Doctor Perkins,” he stepped forward and extended his hand for the doctor to shake.  
“Jon,” he nodded before taking a seat.  
Hines indicated for Natalie to take a seat beside him. Dekker took up post by the door, and Isaac stayed half in and half out in the hopes of spotting Zac. He soon saw him at the end of the corridor and beckoned, making Zac run for the door.  
“Sorry,” he quickly apologised, slipping inside so that Isaac could close the door.  
“My… we have the whole family here then?” the doctor smiled a little.  
“These are his brothers,” Natalie explained.  
“We’ve met,” Isaac gave her a nod before focusing on Perkins.  
“I’m Zac, by the way,” Zac gave him a wave.  
“Nice to meet you,” Perkins nodded.  
He set his clipboard on the table and leant forward to direct his words to Natalie and Hines.  
“As you know our deciding interview with Taylor took place this morning,” he began, “but unfortunately my diagnosis is not as clear-cut as I’d like it to be.”  
“What does that mean?” Natalie asked straight away.  
“My earlier diagnosis of Stockholm syndrome and possible Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder still stands,” Perkins assured, “and I have been able to confirm the PTSD within the time frame I’ve been allowed.”  
“Okay…” Natalie wasn’t sure how that would be unclear.  
“However,” he began regretfully, “after speaking with him this morning I believe he is well aware of his limitations, and he knows very well what is going on. He was in fact even able to explain in depth the reasoning behind a lot of it and was able to pinpoint his own triggers and such.”  
“Why is that a bad thing?” Zac had to ask.  
“So you’re saying…” Hines had picked up on it.  
“I’m saying that I will declare him mentally fit to stand trial,” Perkins announced, “I don’t believe him to be incompetent on any level, and he should be able to work on his own defence quite easily.”  
“You know what this means?” Hines was talking directly to Natalie.  
Natalie took a moment to gather herself before nodding slowly.  
“It means we’re going to have a fight on our hands to keep my husband alive,” she confirmed.


	143. 143

“We’ll get the best team of lawyers we can find, I don’t care if I have to sell my house. We’re never there anyway,” Zac said to Isaac.  
“But for how much longer?” Isaac pointed out.  
“What’s gonna happen to Tay in the meantime?” Natalie looked between Perkins and Dekker.  
“This is now a federal case,” Dekker said bluntly, “with no need for protection from the Creeds he’ll be transferred to a holding facility elsewhere.”  
“Where?” Zac demanded.  
“Undecided as yet,” Dekker didn’t even look in his direction, “my guess is they’ll figure out where the majority of the murders took place and send him to that state.”  
“Do they even know that?” Isaac frowned the same time Zac grunted “murders?”  
“We’re expecting a full confession,” Dekker looked to Isaac, “that will let us know.”  
“You won’t be having any more meetings with my client without me present,” Hines’ game face went on, taking all three Hansons by surprise, “if you want a confession it will have to pass through me, and I don’t think you’ll be getting what you’re hoping for.”  
Dekker just shrugged.  
“I guess I’ve overstayed my welcome,” Perkins stood from his chair and took his clipboard up again, “as Sergeant Dekker has stated, this is now a federal matter. But I do offer my services in regards to diagnosis and terminology on the stand if needed.”  
“Thank you,” Hines nodded, standing up to shake hands with him again.  
Once they were done Perkins left the room. Dekker opted to show him out.  
There was an awkward moment of silence as Hines readied some paperwork.  
“Well at least he won’t be put in a nut house,” Isaac suddenly smirked.  
“No, just the freaking gas chamber,” Zac scorned, going to take up the seat Perkins had vacated.  
“We need to introduce you to Taylor,” Natalie said to Hines, ignoring her brothers.  
“That shouldn’t be a problem now,” Hines assured, “but I’d like to get a meeting with him before they move him.”  
“Dekker said they need to work out a location first,” Isaac was already texting on his phone.  
“Which they’ll get once I talk to him, maybe,” Hines reasoned, “but they’ve been following his every move already. When he was with Nate. They probably have one or two places in mind considering the body counts both of them racked up, and they’ll just want confirmation from his end for which he’s responsible for.”  
“How about none?” Zac couldn’t help himself.  
“He’s already admitted it on record,” Natalie gave Zac a warning tone, “it’ll be hard to take back.”  
“The game plan is this,” Hines knuckled down, “we need Taylor to list each one of the deaths that he has admitted involvement in, and give an explanation on how each of them occurred. If we can palm any off to Nate then we will, but if he pulled the trigger then we’ll have to account for that. Either way this is not going to be easy and I think we should all prepare ourselves for a long and drawn-out process.”  
“Hooray…” Isaac drawled, focusing more on his text to Nikki.  
“So let’s make it shorter,” Natalie said decidedly, “let’s get the ball rolling. How soon can you meet with Taylor?”  
“I’ll speak with Dekker on the way out,” Hines promised, “I wouldn’t say it’d take any more than few days. In my experience the military are prompt schedulers.”


	144. 144

“Mr Hanson? My name is Jonathan Hines. I’ll be your appointed lawyer.”  
Taylor darted a glance across to Dekker, who’d let the man into interrogation. He gave him a nod before leaving.  
“Taylor’s fine,” he offered, shaking the lawyer’s hand before Hines took a seat.  
He looked across at the mirror in the room, knowing that speaking with his lawyer was supposed to be confidential but not entirely sure they weren’t being watched.  
“Aside from a preliminary meeting to discuss the charges you may be faced with…” Hines began, not noticing, “we need to figure out which states those charges were committed in to work out where you’ll be transferred.”  
“Transferred?” Taylor was paying attention again.  
“Yes,” Hines looked across at him as he paused looking through his file, “they need to work out where the acts you’ve already admitted to took place, and you’ll be transferred to a detention centre in the appropriate area.”  
“So I’m going to jail,” Taylor realised.  
“Unless we get you acquitted, at this stage yes,” even Hines didn’t look too hopeful, “but you will be held there during the trial also.”  
Taylor groaned and leant his head in his hand. He’d hoped he could just stay at the Pentagon. It took him a moment to realise that there was no need for them to be there anymore.  
“According to my data you supposedly confessed to six ‘murders’,” Hines went on, “I need every detail you can give me on every one of those. Maybe we can prove who was really responsible for them.”  
Taylor closed his eyes for a moment. They were going to try and pin these on Nate.  
“Oxford, Mississippi,” he didn’t open his eyes again, “Nate decided to send me in as bait to the first base. We pretended he was giving me up to Connor in return for his freedom.”  
“And they bought it?” Taylor could hear Hines writing.  
“I don’t know if they did entirely. The base was run by a man named Stuart Ross. He put in a call to Connor to tell him I was there. He wanted them to hold me and said he’d come for me himself.”  
“Where does the death come into it?” Hines asked.  
Taylor’s eyes opened and squinted as he concentrated.  
“There were two guards and Ross. One of them had me by the throat. When they were deciding to put me in a cell I used a knife I had to cut the man’s wrist.”  
“Did he bleed out?”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, “while he was distracted I shot the other one in the chest. He died instantly. Nate took out the other two.”  
“Was Nate in the room at the time?”  
“No. He showed up after I’d shot the guard and had Ross at gunpoint.”  
Hines wrote furiously, his brow furrowed. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped.  
“Do you know the guard’s name?”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, “I only ever knew a few of them. And there’s no body as far as I’m aware.”  
Hines sighed, thinking back to the evidence the military may have found at the base.  
“And the next one?” he grudgingly asked.  
“Minnesota, three of them,” Taylor replied, “we were approached before we made it to the door.”


	145. 145

“They’re sending him to Oak Park Heights,” Hines’ voice came through the phone.  
“Where’s that?” Isaac frowned, hunched over as he, Zac and Natalie stood around it.  
“Minnesota. Three out of six deaths accounted for occurred at the facility just outside of Duluth so it’s now become a Minnesota case. Oak Park is the state’s only maximum security prison and they’ve never had an escape or a homicide, so he should be safe there.”  
“Meaning it has a better record than ADMAX,” Zac smirked.  
“What’s maximum security going to do to his psyche?” Natalie was instantly worried, “I mean we keep bringing up repression and how he needs the support from family and that… do they really think keeping him locked away from everyone is going to help with that?”  
“For them it’s black and white law,” Hines responded, “multiple murder, high security.”  
“Can we see him? What’s the rules around that?” Isaac asked.  
“I’m going to have to double check, but word on the go is that we shouldn’t have a problem there. I’ll find out his exact visiting rights and I’ll get back to you on that. For now you should think about finding somewhere close to the facility to hold up.”  
“I think we should find out visiting rights first, because it might not be worth it,” Zac looked between them, “and I for one – if it’s going to be as long of a case as they say it is – would rather have the kids back in school.”  
“Yeah same here,” Isaac nodded.  
“When can you find out?” Natalie asked.  
“I’ll do my best but no guarantees. We may have to speak with prison staff once he’s there and they know his situation.”  
“Do you know when he’s leaving?” Isaac asked.  
“Looks like first thing tomorrow.”  
“Already?!” Zac frowned.  
“Like I said, it’s no longer a military issue. They’re going to palm it off as soon as they can.”  
“Do we know when the trial will start?” Natalie thought to ask.  
“I have a meeting with Howell scheduled for Thursday. They should have a judge chosen by then, and they’ll set the parameters for the trial.”  
“Has anyone spoken with Tay about this?” Isaac asked.  
“I warned him he’d possibly be heading for Minnesota,” Hines assured, “but I don’t believe it’s been confirmed with him yet. Unless one of the soldiers has let it slip.”  
“Whyte or Jenkins maybe,” Natalie looked between the brothers.  
“Can you get word to him?” Isaac asked.  
“I can try. But my guess is Dekker will tell him in the morning.”  
“Of course,” Zac rolled his eyes.  
“Hines…” Natalie began cautiously, “can you give us anything on his story? You said we might be able to enforce the Stockholm thing… what’s your take on that after speaking with him?”  
“As a preliminary judgement? From what Taylor’s given me I’m hoping we can pass off at least five of the admissions. Nate was at least present for those, and we have military witnesses as to his hold on Taylor.”  
“What about the sixth?” Zac didn’t want to get his hopes up just yet.  
“The sixth Nate wasn’t there for, but I’m going to work on the angle that he went in with strict instruction from him. Like I said, I’m not making any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”


	146. 146

“So what are we going to do?” Isaac asked Zac when they met in the cafeteria the following morning, “with Tay being transferred this morning we’ve officially overstayed our welcome. So… Minnesota or Tulsa?”  
“I’m thinking of sending Kate back to Tulsa and heading to Minnesota,” Zac shrugged as he worked the coffee machine, “just until we find out what kind of restrictions they’re going to put on him. I figure a couple of days at most, then I’ll give Kate a call and let her know what’s happening – whether I decide to stay or not.”  
Isaac nodded, trying to consider if he’d be willing to do the same thing with Nikki and the boys.  
“I guess…” he winced a little, “we can’t really send Nat back just yet.”  
Zac paused, thinking it over.  
“No,” he agreed, “we really can’t.”  
“I mean there could be room at our place for some of the kids,” Isaac shrugged, “but I don’t know that Nat would want to split them up right now.”  
“I don’t think Nat has any intention of returning to Tulsa just yet,” Zac pointed out.  
“Has she said as much?” Isaac thought he’d check.  
“She was looking at a couple of places last night when I spoke to her,” Zac shrugged, “I don’t know if she found anything. I’ll check with her after this.”  
Isaac nodded, sipping his coffee and staring across the room absently.  
“What are you going to do?” Zac asked curiously.  
“I… hadn’t decided,” he admitted, “on the one hand, Tulsa beckons… on the other… I mean Nat’s going to need the support anyway, and if this thing doesn’t go in Tay’s favour…”  
“Not to bring the mood down or anything, but things never seem to go in Tay’s favour,” Zac smirked.  
“Very true,” Isaac agreed, “so I kinda want to be there for everything.”  
Zac nodded at that.  
“Understandable,” he set his cup on his tray of food and worked his way to a nearby table.  
Isaac hesitated, but followed.  
“I also don’t like the idea of Nat with the five kids alone in Minnesota now that we’re not going to have a protection detail,” he added as he sat across from his brother.  
“Another good point,” Zac agreed, not bothering to look up.  
“Have you looked at anything there?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Not yet,” Zac admitted, “but I also haven’t told Kate.”  
“Well done,” Isaac held back a smirk, “you know they could kick us out anytime from today, right?”  
“Yeah I know,” Zac sighed, looking across the room.  
“I’m sure we can find a motel or something nearby at least,” Isaac didn’t seem too worried, “Nikki’s basically waiting for me to decide on something.”  
“So much indecision,” Zac mused tiredly, “and yet we’ve barely started.”  
“Family meeting time?” Isaac smirked.  
“Sounds good to me,” Zac shrugged, “as long as the women don’t ambush us with getting them back to Tulsa.”  
“It’d be no different from us being on tour,” Isaac didn’t see why they would, garnering an unsure glance from Zac, “we just don’t know exactly what date we’ll be home.”  
Zac sighed, playing with his food.  
“Or if we’ll be bringing Tay home with us,” he added sullenly.


	147. 147

“I’m taking the kids to Minnesota,” Natalie announced before anyone could say anything.  
Five heads turned to the door as it creaked open.  
“Everything okay in here?” Monroe ducked his head in apprehensively.  
“Just sorting out the Hanson game plan,” Zac assured.  
“Thanks Monroe,” Nikki gave him an appreciative smile.  
He nodded and disappeared again.  
“Ike and I were thinking of heading there on our own,” Zac gave his brother a glance, “and letting the rest of you head back to Tulsa. Get the kids back to school and that.”  
“Just the three of you, and five kids?” Nikki’s eyebrows rose.  
“I’m not ready to go back yet,” Natalie insisted, “and if they’re going to let us see Tay then I want the kids with me just in case.”  
“I get that,” Nikki assured, “but don’t you think you’ll need some help? What if the three of you want to go see him like you did in Pittsburgh? You won’t have soldiers to watch the kids.”  
Isaac, Zac and Natalie looked between each other, not having thought of that.  
“I don’t mind coming with,” Nikki assured, “the boys can endure home schooling for a couple of months – or however long it’s going to take – and I can play babysitter for you.”  
“Are you okay with that?” Zac asked Kate, who just shrugged.  
“Are you sure?” Natalie didn’t want to get her hopes up just yet.  
“I’m sure,” Nikki insisted, “and if it becomes a problem down the track, well… I’ll let you know. But I think we all know that Taylor needs the support right now and we don’t need anything to hinder that process.”  
“Are you happy with going back to Tulsa?” Zac checked with Kate.  
“I’m fine either way,” Kate assured, “though I’d like to be there for him too, it might be too much.”  
She smirked.  
“And the house is probably a complete mess.”  
“Won’t be as bad as Tay’s,” Nikki mused.  
“So that’s the plan?” Natalie changed the subject, “ten of us going to Minnesota?”  
“Sounds like a plan,” Isaac agreed, “did you find anything there?”  
“There’s a couple of options,” Natalie admitted, “but I’m wondering if we should just rent a place between us now… maybe get a six month lease or something? Otherwise it’s going to get expensive.”  
“Very true,” Zac nodded, “and if this goes our way we won’t be spending much time there anyhow.”  
“That’s settled then,” Nikki stood to leave, Kate following her lead.  
“Thanks guys,” Natalie called after them, wringing her hands nervously.  
“Everything okay?” Isaac asked her when he noticed, stopping himself from following his wife.  
“Yeah,” she assured, “I just… they haven’t said anything about Tay yet. I don’t even know if he’s still here.”  
“They said first thing, he could already be gone,” Zac suggested.  
“I can ask Monroe?” Isaac offered.  
“Thanks,” Natalie nodded before Isaac disappeared.  
Zac sighed before pulling Natalie into another hug.  
“It won’t be long now,” he insisted, “once Tay’s in Minnesota they’ll push the case through.”  
“I know,” Natalie agreed, “but is that a good thing or a bad thing?”


	148. 148

Taylor looked up when he heard the door open and couldn’t help but smile when he saw his older brother walk through. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d last seen him, though they’d spoken over the phone.  
“Hey,” he greeted, taking in the surprised look on Isaac’s face.  
“Hey yourself,” he looked him up and down – or what he could see behind the table, “you’re looking good. They taking care of you?”  
“Yeah they are,” Taylor nodded, looking over his shoulder appreciatively, “and you know… special treatment because of the kidney and all that.”  
“I don’t remember the last time I saw you clean-shaven,” Isaac mused.  
“I could say the same about you,” Taylor smirked, “sometime in the early noughties?”  
“Ha, ha,” Isaac scorned, “what’s the latest word from Hines?”  
Taylor’s face fell at that and he started picking at his fingernails.  
“Trial starts next week,” he revealed, “Hines and Howell have both been in meetings all week trying to work out deals and whatnot, but nothing’s been particularly appealing so far.”  
“What’s the best offer?” Isaac was concerned already.  
“Life,” Taylor put his head in his hand, eyeing his brother for his reaction, “nothing less.”  
“This Howell guy’s confident then,” Isaac conceded.  
“Very confident,” Taylor’s eyes fell, “but he has been from the start. He’s really gung-ho about the death penalty.”  
“That was the vibe we got from him,” Isaac agreed.  
“Have you met him?” Taylor looked up.  
“No,” Isaac admitted, “but just from what Hines has told Nat.”  
Taylor nodded.  
“How are you taking it?” Isaac asked.  
Taylor glanced across to one of the prison guards.  
“No different than yesterday or the day before,” he sighed, “it’s the waiting that’s the hard part. But I’d much rather be waiting for death here than in Connor’s dungeon.”  
“Have you spoken to Hines about all that?” Isaac thought to check.  
“He knows just about everything,” Taylor shrugged, “I don’t really have a reason to hold back.”  
“Unless it involves saving your skin,” Isaac said pointedly, “I’m sure there’s a few things about your time with the Creeds that you could leave out.”  
“Like what?” Taylor shrugged, “every little thing I add is just more messed up than the last. Whether or not it works in my favour is anyone’s guess, it’ll probably depend on the jury they get.”  
“Who chooses the jurors?” Isaac frowned.  
“Both sides,” Taylor looked him in the eye, “but Hines has already warned me that Howell’s going to go for anyone who looks hard-assed when it comes to life and death.”  
“Wouldn’t that count as bias?” Isaac pointed out, “they can’t have a biased jury.”  
“They’re going to get bias regardless. Everyone’s seen it on the news. Everyone already knows who I am.”  
“You might get lucky,” Isaac shrugged, “the jury could be full of people who’ve… had their experiences with this kind of thing.”  
“That will be the kind of bias that Howell will try and eradicate,” Taylor smirked, “that’ll be the first thing he does.”


	149. 149

“So as long as Hines is in on the gameplay you should be okay,” Isaac tried to reassure.  
“If Hines is as good as he thinks he is,” Taylor didn’t look confident.  
“If you want another lawyer we can find you another lawyer,” Isaac cut in as soon as he registered doubt, “we can get you a team if we have to.”  
Taylor just shook his head.  
“Hines is pretty much on page,” he reasoned, “and he knows everything. It might not be a good idea to bring in a newbie one week out.”  
Isaac hesitated at that, then sighed.  
“You don’t think it’s worth at least bringing in backup?” he suggested, “it’s not like we have your life on the line or anything.”  
“I kinda have backup already,” Taylor admitted, “I asked Jenny if she’d take a look at the case for me.”  
“Jenny?” Isaac’s eyebrows went up, “as in Jenny Coulter?”  
“Yeah,” Taylor’s eyes lowered, “I figure she’s got a pretty good reason to help keep me alive. And it sounds like she’s a pretty good lawyer… Hines already knew who she was.”  
“The court won’t consider it a conflict of interest?” Isaac was worried.  
“Not if she’s on the defence,” Taylor reasoned, “that’s kinda the idea after all. The defence has to be biased toward me.”  
Isaac nodded thoughtfully.  
“And if Hines needs the extra push, well, she’s there,” Taylor shrugged, “so it could be considered a small team I guess.”  
“Forgive me for saying, but…” Isaac’s eye narrowed as he worried he was about to cross a line, “you don’t seem all that worried about this. Even when people keep pointing out that the stakes aren’t exactly in our favour.”  
“Hines assures me five of the charges are looking good,” Taylor shrugged, “and the sixth? There’s no body. That means no evidence. Hines has already said he’s willing to push the angle that the military forced a false confession.”  
“But it wasn’t false,” Isaac frowned.  
“No it wasn’t,” Taylor agreed, “and I will admit that if I take the stand and I’m asked directly.”  
“You’re not making this any easier,” Isaac couldn’t help but smirk, “how on earth are you so calm?”  
Taylor’s eyes fell to the table again as he worked to gather his thoughts.  
“I made my peace with death a long time ago,” he admitted, “and if America decides that I need to die for what I did? I’m okay with that. It was taken into account before I started.”  
He paused to take a deep breath.  
“To be honest I never considered being here to deal with it. I was sure at least one of the Creeds were going to get their revenge for what I did to Ryan.”  
“Even when you only did it to save Zac,” Isaac was having trouble staying composed.  
“According to both Connor and Nate…” Taylor began cautiously, “Zac wasn’t the one in danger when I pulled the trigger. Supposedly there’s video somewhere but I don’t remember it that way.”  
“So what, it was self-defence?” Isaac guessed.  
“In a way, but they already thought I was a goner at that point,” Taylor shrugged, “but by killing Ryan I saved Nate, not Zac.”  
Isaac sat back a little, eyeing Taylor at the revelation.


	150. 150

“Can Zac vouch for that?”  
“I haven’t asked him to,” Taylor admitted, “I was too worried it would be true.”  
“Before or after you submitted to Nate?” Isaac pulled a face.  
Taylor hesitated at that before lowering his eyes again.  
“Before,” he relented, “it was in Salamanca when Nate and I had Connor at the motel.”  
He took another deep breath and sighed.  
“You know it’s weird,” he began, his eyes to the ceiling, “this whole thing with Nate. I remember being with Connor in his home base one night, and after dinner I remember him saying to me that I couldn’t see what I was becoming. I think I get that now. I think I was becoming Nate.”  
He bit his lip as he thought.  
“In a way, I became Nate. Fuelled by an obsession with what he thought was vengeance that became a simple need to control. I was so obsessed with the idea of ending the Creeds because of what they’d done to us and for what they might do to others that I didn’t see what it was turning me into. I didn’t see what Nate was turning me into.”  
He paused to gather his thoughts.  
“I didn’t realise the extent I was drawn to where lack of empathy was concerned. I saw these people as plain black and white ‘bad guys’ who needed to be eradicated, not unlike an opposing force in a war. And I believe I likened it to a war at one stage in an interview.”  
He was careful not to use the word ‘interrogation’ as his eyes fell on Dekker in the small crowd.  
“Speaking of interviews…” Howell’s voice cut through the otherwise silence, “I believe you once were so riled up about some physical damage that Connor Creed had done to your person that you insisted that he needed to die.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot to Hines, who remained seated. The lawyer gave him a rehearsed nod.  
“Connor Creed carved his name into my side in a claim of ownership over Nate,” Taylor explained so the court could be sure of the background, “and yes, that was during the worst time of the… siege. It was in a time where Nate and I were so close to finishing our mission that I didn’t see anything standing in our way until the army came along and pulled me out of the situation.”  
“Do you regret saying that?” Howell feigned interest.  
“About Connor?” Taylor confirmed, “I never said I wanted him dead, I said he needed to pay for what he’d done. And of course it was said in anger, in a very heated interview.”  
Isaac shifted uneasily at the back, Zac shooting him a glance as they kept a careful eye on their brother. So far everything had gone to par, but they hadn’t been present for the entire trial. The amount of witnesses and character references alone required a lot more of the court’s time than the brothers were willing to give of their own lives.  
“And your claim is that Nate was controlling you at the time?” Howell paced.  
“Through submission, yes,” Taylor agreed, pointedly not making eye contact with the jury.  
“Yet you were away from him. In the protective confines of the Pentagon, no less, when you were confronted by Sergeant Dekker.”  
“It didn’t feel like I was away from him at all,” Taylor assured, “the holding cells they kept me in were also where they were keeping Seth Creed at the time. I much preferred being in interrogation.”  
“So you were also submissive to Seth, then?” Howell pressed.  
“To an extent,” Taylor already looked confused, “but having him continually harass me day in and out just confirmed the mission with Nate for me. It told me I was doing the right thing.”


	151. 151

“This could go so many ways,” Zac groaned, rubbing his face as he sat on the pew outside.  
“Guilty or not guilty?” Isaac offered.  
“I don’t see how the jury’s going to take it,” Zac shook his head, “I was staring down every one of them and I couldn’t pick either way.”  
Isaac was about to tell him not to dwell on it too much or it would drive him crazy when the nearby door opened and Hines poked his head through.  
“They’re done,” he announced.  
“Already?!” Zac looked shocked, looking to Isaac as he stood.  
“That can’t be right,” Isaac was confused, “they’ve only been gone ten minutes.”  
“They’re done,” Hines shrugged, “I can’t tell you anything else.”  
Back inside the courtroom they each locked eyes with Taylor who sat beside Hines as he awaited his fate. The jury were slowly returning to their seats, each member certainly looking pleased with themselves over their swift resolution.  
Once the courtroom settled the judge asked for the jury foreman to stand. The foreman stood and cleared his throat, prompting both Taylor and Hines to stand. Taylor gave Natalie – sat near to the front - one last glance before focusing on the jury.  
“Have you reached an absolute verdict whereby all jurors agree on each count?” the judge asked.  
“Yes,” the foreman – a middle-aged businessman – affirmed.  
“Very well. On the first count of murder in the first degree against John Doe the first, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?”  
Half the courtroom held their breath. The calmest person in the room, oddly, was Taylor.  
“Not guilty,” the foreman returned.  
“And on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter?”  
“Not guilty by means of justifiable homicide.”  
Hines shot Taylor a look as Taylor kept his eyes to the floor. One down, six to go.  
The following five counts, all identical bar the inclusion of the name Caruso on the last, came back with a not guilty verdict. Taylor barely blinked, but his brothers were both bordering panic attacks.  
“On the seventh count, the charge of voluntary manslaughter against Private Murray Jones?”  
“Not guilty,” the foreman continued.  
“And on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter?”  
“Guilty, your honour.”  
Zac held back a curse. Taylor didn’t even flinch.  
“Mr foreman, on the overall charge of aiding and abetting Nathan Devereux, how do you find?”  
“Not guilty by means of coercion.”  
Taylor finally looked up as the foreman stood down. Isaac shot both Devon and Monroe a worried glance – both returning it from the other side of the room.  
“Mr Hanson, you’ve been formally convicted on the charge of involuntary manslaughter in reference to your actions on Private Murray Jones. Do you understand the charges?”  
“I do,” Taylor nodded confidently.  
“The charge carries a minimum ten month prison sentence to be followed by a three-year probation. I will employ this in your case as we simply can’t afford to send people to prison ‘just in case’. I am giving you your freedom under the following conditions…”  
Howell did not look happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the end is taking so long. The epilogue is kicking my you-know-what. It's not far away :)


	152. 152

“Coming up on the left…” Devon glanced in the rear view mirror.  
“I haven’t forgotten where I live,” Taylor assured, face practically plastered to the window.  
“Still… you may not recognise it,” Devon looked sheepish as he pulled up at the curb.  
Taylor was silent as his eyes fell on his house for the first time in years. Once Devon had the car still he opened his door and got out to stand on the sidewalk.  
“Seriously?” his brow furrowed, “I thought I told Nat to order a clean-up?”  
“They did clean up,” Zac mused, getting out of the front seat and coming to stand beside him.  
“What did they clean up?” Taylor gave him a questioning look.  
“Well the cars are gone,” Zac pointed out as he began down the driveway.  
Taylor checked over his shoulder to make sure Devon was following before shadowing his brother.  
“And I think they ripped up the carpet that had blood on it…”  
Taylor grit his teeth as they made it to the front door. The electricity had long been turned off so Zac couldn’t even turn the lights on.  
“Doesn’t look like they fixed the holes in the walls, but really… are you sure you want to?”  
“What do you mean?” Taylor frowned as he got his first look at inside the house.  
Not only was it covered in dirt and spider webs – and he definitely saw some bullet holes – but some local kids had managed to get inside and graffiti the walls as well.  
It may as well have been an abandoned building in the slums.  
“I don’t know that this is worth repairing,” Zac went on, “not to belittle any family memories or anything, but you have to admit… they had a pretty good hold on this place.”  
“I wasn’t here for it,” Taylor pointed out, “I mean besides Seth blowing up my car.”  
He made his way past and headed down the hall. Aside from the bathroom door that had been broken down, the bedrooms and such seemed hardly touched.  
“Yeah, but…” Zac folded his arms uneasily, “how do you know they didn’t install spy cameras or something in the meantime? How would you ever feel safe in this house again?”  
“We could always get the guys to come in and do a sweep of the place,” Devon looked apprehensive as he appeared at the end of the hall, “but structurally I wouldn’t declare this very sound anyway.”  
“We can’t afford to just go and buy a new house,” Taylor insisted.  
“But what’s it going to cost to fix this?” Zac pulled a face.  
“The same amount probably,” Devon suggested, looking between them.  
“Have you even asked Nat what she wants?” Zac asked.  
Taylor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.  
“She was indecisive,” he shrugged, “but she hasn’t seen it either I don’t think. She might have done a drive-by but that’d be it.”  
“I think this thing needs to be demolished and rebuilt,” Devon said bluntly, “if you’re gung-ho on staying here, you need a new house on the block. If not, just move and sell.”  
“Like we’d get much for this,” Taylor smirked.  
“You never know,” Devon shrugged.  
“He’s right Tay,” Zac said, “pull it down and start again if you want, but you kinda need a place now.”  
“I know,” Taylor wasn’t keen on either idea, “guess I’ll talk to Nat, see if we can’t move some funds.”  
Devon disappeared from the hall as Taylor’s eyes fell to dark patch on the uncovered floorboards.  
“Who was that?” he pointed to it.  
“One of the bad guys,” Zac assured, pushing past to make his way out again.


	153. 153

They soon made it to Isaac’s house, where Taylor’s older kids had been temporarily holed up while Natalie had kept the younger ones with her in Minnesota for the year. Zac led the way up to the door, grabbing his second-eldest nephew into a bear hug when he answered it.  
“Hey Everett, where’s your Dad?” he asked as he made his way in.  
Devon shadowed Taylor as they followed, soon ducking off into the kitchen area where the adults seemed to have accumulated.  
“Afternoon everyone,” he greeted with a nod.  
“Hey Devon,” Nikki greeted with a smile, “would you like a drink?”  
“I’m fine thanks,” Devon insisted as he headed straight for the wheelchair.  
“Hey cuz,” Henry’s eyebrows rose, shaking his hand once he was within reach.  
“Where’s Tay?” Natalie asked from the counter.  
“He’s finding his way in,” Devon looked over his shoulder in time for him to walk through.  
“Hey everyone,” his grin lit up the room.  
“Dad!”   
Taylor turned at the sound of Ezra’s voice, catching his eldest as he ran into his arms.  
“Welcome home Taylor,” Nikki tilted her glass as Natalie stood to make her way over.  
“Thanks,” Taylor smirked, trying to simultaneously calm his son.  
“It’s like he never left,” Isaac mused from his place at the table.  
“Hey Tay,” Zac pulled him over by the shoulder, “I’d like you to meet Henry. This is Devon’s cousin.”  
“Heard only good things,” Henry assured, reaching up to shake Taylor’s hand.  
“I find that hard to believe,” Taylor wasn’t smiling but his eyes still sparkled.  
It was good to be home and surrounded by family again.  
“Kicking bad guy ass is never a bad thing,” Devon gave him a pat on the shoulder.  
“Where’s Haddon?” Zac asked Isaac.  
“I think he went out back with the kids,” Isaac didn’t look sure, so Zac took off in search.  
“So how was jail?” Henry’s eyebrows rose as Taylor went to lean by the bench after a kiss from his wife.  
Taylor shrugged, knowing a lot of Henry’s story through Zac.  
“Felt kind’ve like a halfway house at times,” he couldn’t help but smirk as Nikki handed him a bottle of Mmmhops from the fridge.  
“No kidding,” Henry couldn’t quite see him from where the chair was.  
“Sorry to hear about your legs,” Taylor frowned as he looked the bottle over.  
Henry shrugged, quickly looking to make sure there were no kids in the room.  
“Shit happens,” he reasoned, “small price to pay for Zac getting me out of there.”  
“I get it,” Taylor looked up as Zac returned with Haddon close behind him.  
“Taylor,” he beamed, coming to shake his hand, “welcome home.”  
“Great to see you Haddon,” Taylor grinned back, “thanks for coming.”  
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Haddon assured, “and hey, we had plenty of time to organise the leave. What was it, ten months?”  
“A ten month sentence, yeah,” Taylor gave Natalie a nervous glance.  
He wasn’t sure where they were on discussing it openly yet.  
“And you’re not any worse for it,” Devon appraised.  
“It was a good timeout,” Taylor shrugged, “a way to centre myself, so to speak.”


	154. 154

“So what’s happening with your probation?” Haddon asked, taking a beer from Nikki as Natalie left to check on the kids out back.  
“I just have to check in every week,” Taylor frowned slightly as he opened his, “and do counselling once a month from here on out. They took into consideration my occupation and that I need to tour to support the family, so they’re not pinning me down to Tulsa like they would anyone else.”  
“Not that we have anything to tour _with_ ,” Isaac pointed out.  
“I’m sure that won’t take long,” Zac smirked as he sat at the table, “I for one am dying to get back in the studio. I have like ten things ready to go.”  
“So…” Isaac looked up at Taylor, “we could just tour as Zac’s backup band.”  
Taylor chuckled as he drank.  
“Of course that means he’d have to pay us,” Isaac mused.  
“Let’s face it, I’d bring in more money solo,” Zac didn’t take the bait.  
“So Tay…” Devon cut in before anyone could retort, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the tracer.”  
“What about it?” Taylor gave him a worried look.  
“You’re still not thinking of getting it removed?” Devon asked as Henry looked up with interest.  
“Nope,” Taylor replied bluntly, diverting his eyes.  
“Even though the EMP didn’t work?”  
“There’s no one left to use it,” Taylor insisted, “it’s benign. It just means I’ll never get through the airport metal detectors safely again.”  
Zac smirked at that, having flashbacks to when they left for Paris.  
“Still, not even as a precaution?”  
“No,” Taylor looked Devon in the eye, “there’s just certain risks I’m no longer willing to take.”  
Devon nodded at that, backing off slightly.  
“So how does it feel to be home?” Nikki changed the subject, leaning over the counter.  
“Homey,” Taylor mused, “not that we have a home per se right now, but… Tulsa is home. It already feels good.”  
“Well you haven’t missed much,” Nikki assured, “nothing you wouldn’t miss if you were on tour anyhow.”  
“How was Vance’s memorial?” Taylor looked to Isaac.  
“It was good,” he nodded, eyes going to Devon and Haddon.  
“Yeah the family really appreciated it,” Devon agreed, leaning over the back of Henry’s wheelchair, “we met his mom and his kid brother.”  
“His brother got the flag,” Isaac nodded.  
“Awesome,” Taylor looked between them, “I’ll have to go see it when we get over there.”  
“Once the crowds die down maybe?” Devon suggested, “let us know when you’re ready.”  
“How soon do you have to go to Wisconsin?” Taylor was watching his older brother.  
“Day after tomorrow,” Isaac looked a little worried.  
“I’m going with,” Zac spoke up, “we both dealt with Hudson Creed and we’ve both been warned we could be called up. Can you really believe they were cousins? Some family business…”  
“Then it’s just Nigel’s case to go,” Henry sighed, reaching for his own beer, “not a bad brew, this.”  
“For once I’m involved in neither,” Taylor smirked, “I never met Nigel or Hudson.”  
“Well I’d say consider yourself lucky but you know…” Zac winked.  
“I am lucky,” Taylor mused, “I’m still here aren’t I?”


	155. 155

It was an eventful welcome-home dinner, each one of the kids making sure they had their share of time with their father/Uncle Taylor. Natalie had often taken the younger ones for visits to Oak Park but the older kids who’d returned to school hadn’t seen him for anything other than special occasions despite talking on the phone.  
The kids did eventually all head off to bed, and the soldiers decided to take their leave soon after.  
“Where are you guys staying?” Taylor asked as they were walked to the door.  
“Hotel in the city,” Devon replied as he directed Henry’s chair, “we originally booked into a motel on the outskirts but when we got there they had no wheelchair access.”  
“It wasn’t that bad,” Henry insisted, “I literally could have jumped that step.”  
“Not on my watch you’re not,” Devon demanded.  
“I wouldn’t argue,” Taylor insisted, “he’s a little over-protective.”  
“A little?” Henry looked disbelieving.  
“A little over-protectiveness never hurt anybody,” Devon defended as they made it to his car.  
“I think the debate is over the word ‘little’, not the protection,” Haddon mused.  
“Anyway I’m glad to pass on the torch,” Taylor gave Henry’s shoulder a pat before Devon helped him into the car, “hey… if you guys aren’t taking off too early, want to come by the studio tomorrow?”  
“We’re here a few days,” Haddon assured, “didn’t want to miss any subsequent parties that might ensue.”  
“The studio’s in one piece right?” Taylor thought to check with Zac.  
“It is,” Zac insisted, “we replaced the bloodied carpet and the broken doors. Ike and I have it pretty much up and running.”  
“That is… if you’re interested,” Taylor looked between Devon and Haddon.  
“I’m in,” Haddon looked to Devon.  
“Hey, sounds good to me,” Devon agreed as Taylor’s newest cell phone suddenly rang.  
“Sorry,” he quickly dug it out of his pocket.  
He frowned when he didn’t recognise the caller.  
“Ah… we’ll call you,” Zac insisted, giving Haddon a wave as he stepped around to the driver’s seat.  
“See you tomorrow!” Taylor called, before answering his phone and backing up the driveway.  
“Think he’ll be okay?” Devon asked after closing Henry’s door.  
“I think he’ll be fine,” Zac watched after his brother, folding his arms at the cold, “now that he’s back with us and we can keep an eye on him.”  
“You’re worried?” Devon raised a brow.  
“Nah,” Zac scoffed, “nowhere near as worried as I thought I’d be.”  
“Hello?” Taylor blocked his other ear, having trouble hearing down the line.  
There was a slight pause, like there’d be if it were an international call.  
“Hello?” he tried again, frown only deepening.  
“Congratulations Mr Hanson.”  
Taylor froze, staring down at the driveway. The French accent was unmistakable.  
His mind was racing to think of a reply when the call suddenly cut out.  
“Bye guys!” Zac called as the car pulled away.  
Taylor slid his phone back into his pocket as he watched after the car.  
“Who was it?” Zac asked as he joined him.  
“No one,” Taylor replied, “wrong number.”  
“Sure,” Zac smirked, heading back up to the house, “I’m probably gonna head off soon if we’re making an early start tomorrow…”  
Taylor hesitated in the driveway, looking either way down the street. When it proved deserted he couldn’t help but smile to himself as he turned to follow his brother back inside.  
“Sounds good to me,” he assured as he closed the door behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> There is an epilogue in the works :)


End file.
